Diver rescued 11 hours after going missing!

A diver who went missing in Scotland near Orkney has been rescued. Ivan Doychev was found by the Russian training sailing ship “Yunyi Baltiets” after 11 hours after going missing. The whole situation took place this past Tuesday, May 2, 2017. In recent times, this is another story of a missing diver that ends happily.

Rescuers received the report at 5.20pm local time. The skipper of the dive boat reported that one of the divers had gone missing during the dive. Three lifeboats and two helicopters were involved in the rescue operation. The search was conducted in the area of the Pentland Firth, the strait separating Orkney from the north of Scotland.

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After being picked up by the sailing vessel ‘Yuni Baltiets’, the rescued diver was transferred to a Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat and transported to Thurso harbour and then to Caithness General Hospital in Wick. British media report that he was in a stable condition.

[blockquote style=”2″]”According to my watch I was in the water for 11 h and 33 min. I knew I could not panic, in the water panic means death. I was extremely happy when I saw the helicopters. They were far away, but I knew they were looking for me, which allowed me to survive the next minutes. I would also like to thank everyone who helped in the rescue operation. I am recovering now and will probably be home later today”. – Doychev told reporters[/blockquote].

The rescued diver was extremely lucky. Gary Harris, who co-ordinated the whole rescue operation on behalf of the Coastguard, said it was extremely difficult to see the head of the searcher, which was the only part sticking out above the waterline. The search was made more difficult by the fact that it was also carried out at night.

Source: bbc.com