ST IVES, UK (6 August 2007) -- Two divers were found safe and well after they were feared drowned. They were spotted by a trawler off the St Ives coast and brought to safety. Coastguards said the missing men had drifted six miles from the wreck where they started diving. The experienced divers were reported missing at 1pm on Saturday after they failed to resurface at the expected time. An immediate search and rescue mission was sparked. Sennen Cove lifeboat, the St Ives all-weather inshore lifeboat and a rescue helicopter from RNAS Culdrose were joined in the rescue mission by coastguard teams from St Ives and St Just. The two men had been diving on the sunken St Chamond cargo ship, three miles off St Ives, when trouble struck. The vessel fell victim to Germany's U-boats during the First World War. She was torpedoed and sank 1.5 miles off St Ives on April 30. 1918. The St Chamond had been carrying at least five steam locomotives as deck cargo when she was hit. A high spring tide was blamed for causing the divers' enormous drift. James Instance, of St Ives Coastguard, said: "The two men concerned were well-prepared. Their kit was excellent. With the dry suits on, they could survive for 12 hours-plus without any difficulties whatsoever. "They were found after four hours but had moved quite a considerable distance." The trawler, which was helping in the rescue bid, spotted the two divers in the water and brought them to safety. Both men were taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske, Truro, where they were given a check-up. The rescue came just two days after two people diving in waters off Plymouth, tragically died. On Thursday, David White, 42, and Kaye Moss, 43, a teacher and mother-of-two, both from Gloucestershire, died while exploring the wreck of HMS Scylla, an artificial diving reef off Whitsand Bay, South East Cornwall. | | Mike Williams has turned the old Gilboa Quarry into a personal gold mine. Now police and local officials want to know if in his rush to profit from America's land-locked divers, Williams failed to provide customers with adequate emergency preparedness? They had been diving from Plymouth charter boat, the Maid Maggie II. Crew raised the alarm after the two divers failed to resurface at 11.30am. Mr White's body was recovered by divers at about 3pm. His companion's body was found more than an hour later. The bodies of both divers were found within the shell of the wreck. HMS Scylla, which lies in around 25 metres of water, was sunk in 2004 to create Europe's first artificial reef. She is owned by Plymouth's National Marine Aquarium, which uses her for scientific research. Police investigations into the two deaths are continuing. In June 2005, Christopher Sidgwick, from Chelmsford in Essex, became the first diver to die on the popular wreck. An inquest later found that the Scylla was "extremely hazardous" for divers and was "a tragedy waiting to happen". SOURCE - Western Morning NewsSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
