A 46-year-old diver has tragically died after surfacing unconscious from a dive some seven miles east of Portland off the famed Jurassic Coast of Dorset.
An emergency call was made to the Coastguard at around 10am on Sunday 16 September, and subsequently a rescue helicopter, the Weymouth all-weather lifeboat and the inshore lifeboat, Southwest Ambulance Service and the Portland and Wyke Coastguard Rescue Teams were deployed. An air ambulance was also scambled to the Marsh playing fields, and a section of Custom House Quay was cordoned off to give the emergency services space to work.
The man, who has not been identified but is understood to be from Blackpool, was recovered on to his dive boat and a paramedic from the Coastguard helicopter tended to him as they returned to Weymouth Harbour. Sadly, he was pronounced dead a short time later.
The next of kin have been informed, and while enquiries are being carried out on behalf of the coroner, the death is not being treated as suspicious.
This traumatic event was just one of a series of coastguard rescue incidents off the Dorset coast over that weekend.
Photo credit: Jason Brown/www.bardocreative.co.uk
