Hurricane Irma Update: Scuba Diver Rescued from Riviera Beach Water
TUESDAY, SEPT. 12 ... UPDATE TO THE STORY WE REPORTED ON SUNDAY, SEPT. 10, DURING HURRICANE IRMA — A man trying to ride out Hurricane Irma on his boat had to be rescued on Sunday.
Officials haven't released the man's name.
The unidentified diver said he’d sailed from Marathon in the Florida Keys to escape the impending storm. He planned to anchor in West Palm to ride out the storm, but after another boat hit his anchor line, the boat broke free from its mooring. The unlucky diver headed for Lake Worth Inlet, where he tied the line to a channel marker. As the storm worsened, and fearing his boat would capsize, he put on scuba gear and headed for the edge of the Intracoastal Waterway south of the Lake Park Marina.
Ultimately, the passing good Samaritans pulled the exhausted diver from the water. Local resident Curtis Alva saw two men trying to rescue the diver on Sunday afternoon and pitched in to help. “Because the water was so rough, it was very hard for him to swim,” Alva told the Palm Beach Post. “When he got over the edge, there was a sea wall there. Even at high tide the seawall was probably three feet higher than the water level, so he couldn’t get out of the water.”
A link to the video by Davis Ramsey, which captured footage of two people attempting to rescue the man before Riviera Beach Fire Rescue stepped in, is below. Ramsey told KITV that the diver appeared "very weak, so people had to run out [to help him]. They tried to drag him out but he was too weak. It was a very strange incident. I had no idea what he was doing out there."
SUNDAY, SEPT. 10 — Riviera Beach Fire Rescue crews rescued a scuba diver trapped in the city’s waters. It is unclear where the diver was located. City Fire Rescue authorities tweeted about the incident at about 12:45 Sunday afternoon (Sept. 10).
@RBFRPIO87Riviera Beach Fire Rescue tweeted about the report of a scuba diver in trouble.
Two hours later, Riviera Beach Fire Rescue reported on the rescue in a follow-up tweet.
@RBFRPIO87Riviera Beach Fire Rescue tweet about the successful rescue.
UPDATE, SEPT. 10, 8:00 PM: cbs12.com has video of the rescue — apparently two passersby were able to help the diver to safety. Davis Ramsey captured the rescue from Point Condominiums in Riviera Beach.
