Seven Sub Aqua divers rescued in Kilkee

Seven Athlone Sub Aqua divers were rescued from the water in Kilkee on Saturday after getting into difficulty during the first dive of the season. The seven divers, all of whom were experienced and accustomed to the dive location in Kilkee, decided to abort their exercise shortly after it began due to a surge in the water. However, when they resurfaced they had drifted from the dive boat. None of the divers were although one did suffer from mild hypothermia. Aidan Henry, PRO of the Athlone Sub Aqua Club, explained that last weekend was the first weekend of the dive season, He said the divers, all of whom were experienced, had initially searched for a suitable location to dive as there was a slight swell in the water. Having found what they thought was a safe location they began the dive. However, shortly they noticed a strong swell in the water and decided to abort the dive. However, when they resurfaced they had been swept out with the current, away from the dive boat. The dive time was 30 minutes and when they failed to resurface the team"s coxswain alerted the Coast Guard. 'We have an emergency plan and the coxswain implemented that plan,' explained Mr Henry. He added that the emergency services were on site very quickly. Mr Henry said the youngest diver was 20, not 15, as reported elsewhere. He said while there was a 15-year-old on the boat, he was never in the water. He said the club had been diving in Kilkee for about 30 years and the divers were accustomed to the dive location, where these sort of conditions were unusual. Mr Henry explained that the divers were in the water for approximately two hours and knew they would be found. When they resurfaced they tried to stay together for as long as possible, but then two decided to try to swim to shore. However, they were unable to make it as the current kept pushing them back. The Coast Guard helicopter spotted these two divers and rescued them and was then able to tell the dive boat the location of the other five divers, who had surface markers. The boat then picked them up out of the water. The divers were brought to Kilkee Rescue Centre where one of them was treated for minor hypothermia and released later on Saturday evening. Mr Henry commended the Air Corps, the Coast Guard and Kilkee Rescue Centre for their work and said they were very quick off the mark. 'They were a bit shook, but they"re all experienced divers and are usually involved in rescues on the other side of the coin,' he said. He added that, thankfully, it was a good outcome and said he didn"t think the incident would keep the divers out of the water for long.