Portaferry RNLI Help Search For Missing Diver On Strangford Lough

The volunteer lifeboat crew at Portaferry RNLI responded to a launch request from the Coastguard on Saturday 9 April to help search for an overdue diver.

The man had been diving with a number of others in Ringhaddy Sound in Strangford Lough when he became separated from the rest of his party while returning to the surface.

The Portaferry lifeboat assisted in the rescue of a lost diver in Strangford Lough.
The Portaferry lifeboat assisted in the rescue of a lost diver in Strangford Lough.

The Portaferry Lifeboat, an inshore Atlantic 85, launched at 4.18pm and its crew were quickly on scene at 4.30pm to help with the search for the missing man.

At the time the weather was partly cloudy with good visibility, and there was a Force 3-4 southerly wind and calm sea.

Once the volunteer crew from Portaferry arrived, they were directed to a landing area nearby where the missing diver had been helped to shore by a member of the public who had been on the water in a small boat.

The RNLI crew assessed the man’s condition to make sure that he was in no immediate harm before a paramedic from the Irish Coast Guards Rescue 116 helicopter arrived.

The man was found to be fine and the volunteer RNLI crew then left the scene at 5.10pm to return to the Portaferry station.