NANAIMO, British Columbia (26 Nov 2007) — The RCMP conducted what turned into a recovery mission in the waters off Gabriola on Sunday, after a male diver went missing Saturday afternoon. The man was with a woman during the dive to HMCS Cape Breton, an artificial reef sunk near Snake Island in October 2001. The woman surfaced and called for help immediately, and Coast Guard Auxiliary unit 27 from Nanaimo was first on the scene. But unit leader Paul Brinhead said they cannot do dive rescues. We arrived on scene and there wasn't much we could do," he said. "We were first on scene, but we don't have divers." Shortly after they arrived, they were joined by the Coast Guard hovercraft from Vancouver, which does have rescue divers. The Squardon 442 Search and Rescue Cormorant helicopter from Comox and a Coast Guard vessel from French Creek also assisted. Brinhead said the divers off the hovercraft began an immediate search as the helicopter and ships swept the area in case the man had surfaced. But because of the depth of the wreck, sitting in more than 40 metres of water, the rescue divers were limited to a maximum of 15 minutes. Staying at that depth for much longer can cause severe injury (from decompression sickness). "They went through all their divers and couldn't do anymore," said Brinhead. "The depth is the issue." On Sunday, realizing the chance that the man survived was slim, the case was turned over to the police as a missing person's file. The coroner's office is also expected to be notified. Police said the search was called off as darkness set in on Sunday. "They didn't find him on initial search, and that's a big ship," said Staff Sgt. Gene Pinnegar, with the Nanaimo RCMP. | | A scuba diver who went missing while exploring the HMCS Cape Breton, which was scuttled off Nanaimo to boost tourism, is presumed dead. One veteran local diver, Steve Lloyd, said that the Cape Breton is "not an amateur dive." "It's deep and you've only got 15 or 20 minutes, and that's pushing it," he said. Ian Hall, with Ocean Explorers College of Diving, said information was circulating about the accident in the Nanaimo dive community, but he had no way to confirm what he heard. The couple, believed to be from Vancouver, are said to be experienced divers. Hall said that since the Cape Breton was sunk there have been close to 100,000 dives with no problems. SOURCE - Times ColonistSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
