A diver is fighting for his life after being pulled from the waters off a remote beach just hours after another man died during a diving expedition in Queensland.
Bystanders at Flint and Steel Beach in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, north of Sydney, performed CPR on the man and called triple zero, prompting a large and complex emergency response shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
NSW Ambulance crews, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, Rural Fire, Fire and Rescue crews and NSW Police all rushed to the scene to assist.
The man, aged in his 40s, was loaded onto a Rural Fire Service boat and transported to a harbour, where he was rushed to Northern Beaches Hospital in a critical condition.
A NSWFR spokesman said firefighters, including a specialist rescue team, were called to the scene.
It comes after a 54-year-old Gold Coast man died while commercially diving at the Wolf Rock dive site, 2km off Double Island Point, shortly after 11am on Friday.
A Queensland Ambulance spokeswoman said the man had died for “a completely unrelated medical reason”.
Queensland police have appealed for help finding the man’s diving equipment, which may have floated along a wide swath of the southeast Queensland coast.
Bystanders at Flint and Steel Beach (pictured) in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, north of Sydney, performed CPR on the man and called triple zero, triggering an extensive and complex emergency response shortly after 2 pm on Saturday.
It comes after a 54-year-old Gold Coast man died while commercial diving at the Wolf Rock dive site, 2km from Double Island Point, shortly after 11am on Friday.
The man’s diving equipment, which included a black buoyancy control vest and a white air tank, was left in the water and police believe he may have drifted north.
Police believe currents may have pushed the equipment north of Inskip Point and up to the K’Gari stretch of beach.
Anyone who finds the items on the beach has been urged to leave them alone and contact police, but if they are found in the water, police have urged the public to collect them before contacting authorities.
Locals know Wolf Rock as a challenging diving and snorkeling site, where divers may encounter poor visibility and strong currents.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.