Coast Guard launch search for four divers missing off Cape Fear during cruise
The US Coast Guard has launched an urgent search for four divers missing off Cape Fear after they disappeared during a pleasure cruise.
The Coast Guard said the men were diving 63 miles east of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina on a craft called 'Big Bill's' at around noon on Sunday and have not been seen since. A missing person search was issued later that evening.
A MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew; an HC-130 Hercules aircraft crew; an HC-130 aircraft crew; a 47-foot motor lifeboat crew; the Coast Guard Cutter Sailfish, an 87-foot patrol boat; and the Coast Guard Cutter Yellowfin are all helping with the search.
Multiple aircrafts are involved in the missing diver search (Getty Images)The crews in the search are from North and South Carolina and contain some as far as Sandy Hook in New Jersey, according to officials. The current sea state is about 2-3ft with 10-knot winds, which are favourable conditions, and crews will be continuing the search throughout the night. The names of the missing men have not been released.
There are around 80-90 diving accidents each year in the US and Canada, according to the Diver Alert Network, who report diving deaths are lower than those for driving cars.
TikTok star dies after falling off 70ft coastal cliff while shooting videos
The missing person search comes after the US Coast Guard suspended its search for a 44-year-old man who went missing during a dive to a shipwreck off the Florida Keys last week.
Crews had been searching for Thomas Faulkenberry since he was reported missing last Wednesday but he has not been found. Approximately 4,300 square miles, about the size of Connecticut, had been searched without success, the Coast Guard said.
The four men went missing while on a pleasure cruise (US Coastguard)Mr Faulkenberry was reported missing Wednesday morning after he was overdue returning from a dive to the wreck of the USS Vandenberg about 7 miles off Key West, according to the agency.
Search and rescue services including the Coast Guard, US Navy and Army dive teams, the National Guard, Monroe County Sheriff's Office, and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission had spent a combined total of 152 hours searching for the missing diver who was looking at the ship, which dates back to World War II. It was intentionally sunk in the area in 2009 to add an artificial reef to a marine sanctuary.
"This was a tragic accident," Coast Guard Capt. Jason Ingram, commander of the agency's Key West sector, said in a statement. "Diving is an inherently dangerous activity. Mr. Faulkenberry's passion for the sea is well remembered by the dive community here in the Keys and my deepest condolences are with his family at this difficult time."
A GoFundMe page was set up for Mr Faulkenberry’s four sons, ranging in age from 15 to 21, by their mum, who described him as “an experienced diver who loved the water”.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
