A 45-year-old diver spent 5 hours adrift at sea close to the port of Los Angeles, USA, after becoming separated from his dive boat. He was rescued after a boyscout spotted him from an excursion vessel.

Dan Carlock was diving offshore from a boat with Ocean Adventures Dive Company, but became separated from his fellow divers after ear-clearing problems on descent.

He surfaced alone, blew his whistle in an attempt to attract attention, and waited to be picked up by the dive boat, which was secured to a nearby oil platform. When the rest of the dive group surfaced, they left without him and travelled to their next dive site, some six miles away.

The coastguard received a report from the dive group that Carlock was missing, but the report was made from the second dive site. Rescuers, including lifeguards and personnel from the Los Angeles City Fire Dept, were searching in entirely the wrong place.

Fortunately for Carlock, an eagle-eyed, 15-year-old boyscout, Zack Mayberry, was undergoing nautical training on the Argus - a tall ship designed for excursions - and had been put on stern watch. He spotted the lone diver 150m away, through a pair of binoculars and raised the alarm.

Carlock was picked up in the early afternoon, having entered the water at 8.45am. Coast guard are investigating how the mix-up occurred.

Lost divers/separation from dive boats is one of the most common diving incidents in the UK, and a major cause of call-outs for the RNLI. UK divers are advised by the Coastguard to carry surface visibility aids such as flags and Surface Marker Buoys.

Relevant links
RNLI launches Diving Safely pack
Divers urged to contact Coastguard
Maritime and Coastguard Agency (UK)
RNLI (UK)

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