A DIVER suspected to be suffering the bends was airlifted by ambulance helicopter from HMAS Creswell yesterday and flown at low altitude to the Prince of Wales Hospital for assessment at the hyperbaric unit.
An ambulance was called to Murrays Beach at 9.45am where a 29-year-old man, who by his own admission, had ascended “a bit too quickly” from a depth of 22 metres was coughing up blood, a symptom of the bends.
He was taken by ambulance to nearby HMAS Creswell, from where he was picked up by the air ambulance and flown to Sydney. The flight had to be made at low altitude to avoid pressure changes that could have exacerbated the man’s condition.
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