U.S. Coast Guard rescues unconscious diver 46-miles east of Cape May

It was a scary situation but one that training, patience, and great skill led to a positive outcome.

The U.S. Coast Guard was needed on Wednesday after a diver became unconscious in the waters a little distance off the coast of Cape May.

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The U.S. Coast Guard put out a statement on Wednesday saying that they had medevacked a diver to the University of Pennsylvania hospital in Philadelphia after she was rescued from the waters 46-miles east of the Jersey Shore.

Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay command center were the ones who received the initial call and report about a 50-year old woman who was unresponsive after returning from a dive she had taken from the vessel, 'Gypsie Blood', a dive vessel as it were.

The Coast Guard was told she has dove to a depth of 150-feet but was unconscious when she came back up from the water.

Crews from the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay then dispatched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew from nearby Coast Guard Station Atlantic City to the scene for rescue and aid.

The woman had to be brought to the closest decompression chamber available, the Coast Guard explained, which to that location was at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

“Without the proper communication that we had, we would not have been able to safely conduct the mission especially considering the distance offshore that the vessel was,” Lt. Anthony Barletta, the command duty officer in the command center, said in a statement. “A marine band radio is the best way to get first responders on scene when an emergency arises.”

You can watch the rescue effort below, as provided by the U.S. Coast Guard District 5.