Coast Guard Rescues Unresponsive Diver 46 Miles East of Cape May

Imagine being over 40 miles out to sea, you're diving in the ocean, and you are rendered unconscious while underwater. What would you do?

For one woman, the U.S. Coast Guard came to her rescue.

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Officials say Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay command center received a report that a 50-year-old woman was unresponsive after she dove to a depth of 150-feet and then resurfaced unconscious.

A MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Station Atlantic City flew to the scene, which was 46 miles east of Cape May. They were able to airlift her from a diving boat and fly her to the closest decompression chamber, which is at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Lt. Anthony Barletta, the command duty officer in the command center, Officials saysaid in a statement, "Without the proper communication that we had, we would not have been able to safely conduct the mission especially considering the distance offshore that the vessel was. A marine band radio is the best way to get first responders on scene when an emergency arises."

An update on the unidentified woman's condition was not available as of Thursday morning.

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Filed Under: Coast Guard