WILMINGTON, N.C. (WNCN) — Crews in North Carolina helped rescue a diver who drifted away from his boat about 75 miles from the South Carolina coast and also off the North Carolina coast on Friday afternoon, officials said.
The incident was reported around 1:50 p.m. Friday when the U.S. Coast Guard in Miami was notified by an emergency GPS beacon, according to a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard.
The GPS was activated by crews aboard the Rhudy Phillips, a 28-foot dive boat that the man, a commercial diver, was originally aboard, officials told CBS 17.
The diver, age 35, had drifted away from the boat 75 miles east of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which is about 20 miles southeast of Bald Head Island, North Carolina, the news release said.
The search took place in eight to nine-foot seas, with winds coming from the north at 15 knots.
An HC-130 Hercules airplane from Elizabeth City, North Carolina and a 45-foot boat from Oak Island, North Carolina were among the crews sent to help find the man.
“Coast Guard District Seven command center watchstanders launched multiple air and surface crews to assist in the search efforts and developed search patterns near the diver’s last known position, based on the prevailing weather conditions,” the news release said.
Eventually, crews on an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Savannah, Georgia, found the man.
A rescue swimmer was sent down to hoist the man into the helicopter. The aircrew then flew the diver to Cape Fear Regional Jetport near Wilmington, North Carolina, where EMS crews were available, officials said.
“It was a miracle that our rescue swimmer spotted him while we were on the last leg of our sector search,” Lt. Jeff Davis, Coast Guard Air Station Savannah aircraft commander, said in the news release. “The diver’s yellow surface marker buoy helped us spot him despite the rough seas and strong winds, which limited visibility.”
After the man was rescued, no medical concerns were reported.
Rodney Overton
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