GUAM (1 Nov 2004) -- The search for a missing diver ended last night when the diver's body was recovered around 9 p.m. His name was not released as of press time. The 50-year-old man went missing off the waters of Asan Beach. At 5:30 p.m. yesterday, the Guam Fire Department received a call about a distressed diver, said the department's spokeswoman, Firefighter Phyllis Blas. Officials from the fire department, Navy HC-5 helicopter squadron and the Coast Guard responded. Coast Guard search-and-rescue specialist Lee Putnam said the man was diving with a couple of other people. Putnam said according to the initial call, a man came out of the water yelling for help because a diver was in distress, and a passerby ran to a phone to call dispatch. | | "We later learned there was another guy in the water that recovered the guy's missing gear," Putnam said. Putnam said the Coast Guard launched a boat to assist with the search and the HC-5 was airborne at 5:55 p.m. and on scene within minutes. Putnam said around 6:04 p.m., HC-5 spotted a set of fins and a snorkel just off of the reef. Seventeen people have died in Guam's waters this year, excluding the diver's death yesterday. Last year, six people drowned on Guam. SOURCE - Pacific Daily News |
