According to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the 49-year-old male diver was diving from the Beadnell-based Ocean Explorer yesterday when he got into difficulty during a lunchtime dive, his second of the day.
When he was taken aboard another dive boat, Glad Tidings, the diver was unconscious, not breathing and his heart had stopped.
During emergency treatment which included cardiopulmonary resuscitation performed by a GP who was one of the diving group aboard, the casualty regained consciousness and the ability to respond to voices.
Under the advice of phone-linked diving medical experts, he was evacuated by the RAF Boulmer helicopter first to the A&E Department at Wansbeck Hospital, accompanied by his 12-year-old son who was suffering from shock.
The casualty, who had travelled with his son from the Cambridge area to dive with seals, was then airlifted again for recompression treatment in Hull.
According to Northumberland’s The Journal, he is now making a “strong recovery”.
The GP involved in the rescue, named by the newspaper as Dr Ben Beuville of Morpeth, was also well positioned five years ago to help another diver in crucial need of help.
He intervened when a member of his diving group caught a leg in a boat propeller.
His quick action is reported to have saved the diver, who would otherwise have lost too much blood before transfer to hospital.
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