SALCOMBE, Devon, UK — Twelve scuba divers had to be rescued after their dive boat sank off Salcombe in Devon. The divers, who joined a dive trip promoted and sold by PADI 5-Star Dive Wimbledon, were diving off the 12-meter Aquanaut dive boat, which is owned and operated by Aquanauts Dive Centre, a BSAC premier dive centre. Authorities told CDNN the boat suddenly started taking on water and sank in less than eight minutes off Bolt Head earlier this afternoon. The crew set off distress flares and a yacht in the area, the Dutch Angel, assisted in the rescue. Two divers boarded the yacht and the other ten scrambled into a life raft. After receiving a distress call, the Coastguard launched the Salcombe lifeboat, which brought the divers back to Salcombe. Trip leader, Howard Payne, said the sudden sinking of the dive boat was the "most hairy situation I've ever been in". Payne said he and another diver were briefly trapped in the vessel's cabin as they rushed to get life jackets and then had to cut loose the life raft. The accident is under investigation by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch. | 
