Photo credit: Neil and Angie Hadfield
Members of Ras Al-Hamra Sub-Aqua Club in Oman leapt into action to help rescue two divers after they went missing.
Neil Abbott, Nathan Marriott, Gareth Simmonds and Justin Meyers were about to enjoy a barbeque one Friday afternoon when an emergency situation unfolded.
Two divers scuba diving from a commercial vessel had gone missing off Fahal Island in the Gulf of Oman.
Calling upon their seamanship and rescue training skills a small team hastily prepared two of the club’s boats with essential safety equipment, and the four personnel headed for the last known location.
The team decided to split up and search in two different directions. Neil said:
The conditions were challenging… we knew time was of the essence.
After a two-hour search the boat manned by Gareth and Justin luckily spotted the divers close to a looming tanker.
Neil commented:
At Ras Al-Hamra SAC regular planning of club dives and operating with our own boats always means we are honing our skills.
For me personally I suppose I owe a lot to my BSAC training from the beginning, and I had the opportunity through my career and military training to put that in to practice as a Sub Aqua Diving Supervisor for many years. Running expeditions around the world helps and provides us with many different situations that we can use to practise the things we preach about being safety conscious.
Hopefully this event will encourage others to take training courses to enable them to further their own experience. It’s always a bit of an eye opener when things like this happen and a useful lesson for all! Indeed I believe we would all do the same.
Based in Muscat in Oman, Ras Al-Hamra Sub-Aqua Club won BSAC's prestigious Heinke Trophy in 2022.
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