VIDEO: Scuba diver rescued after spending more than 17 hours in the ocean (ABC News)
Diver missing for 17 hours off Townsville coast found alive
A scuba diver missing for more than 17 hours off the north Queensland coast is lucky to be alive, according to his rescuers.
The man, aged 68, went to dive at the SS Yongala wreck near Russell Island, south of Townsville, by himself on Sunday and failed to return.
Police were called by the man’s friend about 6:45pm, and found his boat moored at the dive site later that night with no-one on board.
Rescuer Alan Griffiths was on a helicopter that had been searching for the missing man this morning for 90 minutes and was about to head back to the base to refuel when the diver was spotted about 11:00am.
“The paramedic just looked at the right angle and saw him,” he said.
“There was a sense of urgency because we were heading back for fuel, but we wouldn’t have been back for an hour.”
“I said to him, ‘G’day mate, do you want a lift?'” he said.
“He said to me, ‘You should buy a lottery ticket’, I was like, ‘No mate, you need to buy a lottery ticket’.”
Mr Griffiths said the man had seen three helicopters and a plane searching for him all morning.
Rescuers were hoping to see the man’s black wetsuit and yellow oxygen tank.
“He’s very lucky, there is an element of luck on his side, that’s for sure,” Mr Griffiths said.
“Black and yellow kind of stand out.”
No safety equipment and a strong current
Mr Griffiths said the man usually uses a personal locator beacon, but cleaned it several days earlier and forgot to put it in his diving box.
“He went by himself, which is a bit naughty,” he said.
“He jumped in the water from his boat and then realised the current was so strong and quite simply couldn’t get back to his boat.
“That’s how quickly the current took him.”
The man was found 10 nautical miles north east of Cape Upstart, south of Ayr.
No safety equipment and a strong current
Mr Griffiths said the man usually uses a personal locator beacon, but cleaned it several days earlier and forgot to put it in his diving box.
“He went by himself, which is a bit naughty,” he said.
“He jumped in the water from his boat and then realised the current was so strong and quite simply couldn’t get back to his boat.
“That’s how quickly the current took him.”
The man was found 10 nautical miles north east of Cape Upstart, south of Ayr.
Source
ABC News
Key points:
- The 68-year-old diver did not have a personal locator beacon on his dive belt
- He underestimated the current and was swept away from the Yongala wreck
- Rescuers were hoping the man’s black wetsuit and yellow air tank would stand out against the ocean
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