WHITBY, UK — A 16-year-old had to be airlifted to hospital after contracting the bends while diving off the coast of Whitby. He was taken to Hull and East Riding Hospital on Sunday afternoon along with his father, after exploring a wreck in the area. They have been named locally as father and son Paul and Sam Elliott from Scarborough. Humber Coastguard, Whitby RNLI and an RAF Sea King from Leconfield were all used to get the casualties to a hyperbaric unit at the hospital. The incident happened at around 1pm after a call was made from the dive boat, Bell Raiser, to the coastguard. A spokesman for Humber Coastguard told the Whitby Gazette: "We got the call to say a man was suffering with decompression sickness and needed medical treatment." "We put them in touch with naval experts to offer advice on what to do with the casualty and Whitby RNLI was tasked to the scene. "It was decided that an extraction would be easier from the offshore boat so the helicopter collected the man and took him to Hull." Whitby lifeboat coxswain Mike Russell told the Gazette that the youth was given oxygen by the crew while the helicopter arrived. His father, and dive partner, was also taken to hospital as a precaution. Their condition is described as "satisfactory" they remain under observation. The younger of the pair was decompressed for five hours on Sunday and was due to go back into the chamber yesterday for further treatment. The pair had been diving at the site of the Brentwood, a collier that was sunk by a mine in 1917 about five miles north and two miles out off the coast of Whitby. It is a dive that is known for being tricky to get to as it is some 48 metres to the sea bed. by Carl Gavaghan | 
