TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Brothers rescue drifting divers off Hernando Beach

Tribune photo by CHRIS URSO

Patrick Pinder, right, along with his two sons, Patrick Jr., 18, center, and Garrett, 17, were diving with their father when the boys noticed divers in the water 20 miles off the coast of Hernando County and pulled them into their boat. The rescued divers said that they had lost contact with their boat and had been in the water for 24 hours.

ADVERTISEMENT

TBO.com

Published: May 10, 2009

Two divers adrift for nearly 24 hours in the Gulf of Mexico were rescued Sunday afternoon by two brothers who spotted them about 20 miles west of Hernando Beach, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The divers, Timothy Allen, 52, and Paula Allen, 48, were treated by paramedics at a Hernando Beach boat ramp then taken to Oak Hill Hospital in Spring Hill, Coast Guard spokesman Rob Simpson said. The conditions of the Allens are not known.

The divers told authorities they were not able to swim back to their 28-foot boat, the Wehoo, because of a strong current. They began drifting away from their boat after their dive about 3 p.m. Saturday, Simpson said.

Patrick Pinder called the Coast Guard about 2 p.m. Sunday and told authorities his sons, Garrett and Patrick Jr., found the divers floating in the water about 20 miles west of Hernando Beach.

The divers were "incredibly lucky" to have been found by the Pinder brothers, Lt. Miguel Torrez of Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg said in a prepared statement. "The Coast Guard cannot stress enough the importance of filing a float plan with a family member or a friend and having the proper safety equipment when boaters and divers go out on the water."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT