A scallop diver,missing for nearly four hours,had a lucky escape when he was found alive and well on a remote shoreline in Ardnamurchan following an extensive search operation led by Tobermory RNLI lifeboat.
The Tobermory all-weather lifeboat,Elizabeth Fairlie Ramsey,was launched at 4.15pm on January 10 2012 to search for the diver who had failed to return to the surface close to the Red Rocks in the Sound of Mull. The lifeboat was joined in the search by HM Coastguard shore teams from Kilchoan,Salen and Tobermory,who scoured the adjacent coastline,as well as the Stornoway Coastguard search and rescue helicopter.
At 6.35pm,following a request from Clyde Coastguard and with rapidly deteriorating weather and visibility,a volunteer Crew Member from the Tobermory RNLI lifeboat,Grant Carmichael,was put aboard the scallop diving vessel to assist the missing diver’s colleagues in the search. Shortly afterwards,a voice was heard in the dark from the shore,close to an area known as Maclean’s Nose,and the missing diver was located. Tobermory RNLI lifeboat stood by with its Y boat (a small dinghy) ready to be deployed whilst the diver was airlifted to safety by the Stornoway Coastguard search and rescue helicopter. The diver,who had been found safe and well,was taken to hospital in Oban for a check up.
Tobermory RNLI Coxswain,Phil Higson said:‘When the light faded,hopes began to fade too and we feared the worst,but all of the search teams involved carried on. This is a tremendous result for everyone concerned.’
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