By Alan Burke
The Salem News
MARBLEHEAD, Mass. — Police and fire reacted quickly after getting word on Saturday of a diver in serious distress. The boat he was on, the Gauntlet, was headed for the State Street landing where he hoped to find medical help.
Following what’s described as a 190-foot dive, the diver complained of dizziness, nausea and numbness according to the log. “Likely the bends. Will need a hyperbaric chamber.”
The boat was said to be nearly six miles south of Marblehead Neck when the alarm was raised at 12:14 p.m. Even before it reached the harbor, police had alerted Medflight. The Coast Guard was also in touch with the Gauntlet. Further, the Marblehead harbormaster, carrying an EMT on his vessel, met the Gauntlet while it was still at sea. The EMT was transferred so care could begin as soon as possible. The stricken diver was put on oxygen.
At the same time, police cleared Seaside Park of a small number of people in order to provide a landing zone for the Medflight helicopter. On reaching the State Street dock, the patient was taken from the boat to a waiting ambulance before being driven under a police motorcycle escort up State and Mugford streets to the park — the route chosen to minimize the impact of holiday traffic.
The transfer to the helicopter was completed in the outfield at the park. The diver was then flown out at 1:18 p.m. to Massachusetts General Hospital where his condition has not been released.
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©2015 The Salem News (Beverly, Mass.)