Fox29 WFLX TV, West Palm Beach, Florida-Man has heart attack while scuba diving

OCEAN RIDGE, FL (WFLX) - There was trouble 60 feet below the surface Sunday morning about a mile off the coast of Ocean Ridge.

According to The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, a diver in his 50s suffered a heart attack after a dive off a Boca Raton based boat named "Deeper".

Witnesses said the man was unresponsive close to the ocean floor.

"I don't think it's sunk in. It's definitely the first time I've seen anything like this," said Steve Sherwood, who was also diving from the same boat.

Another diver rushed for the surface to get help for the heart attack victim, who is still not being identified by authorities.

The second diver became a victim himself after being overcome by decompression sickness. He was incapacitated but alert, witnesses said, and was pulled aboard the boat.

A female diver went back down into the water for the heart attack victim, said Mr. Sherwood.

"Got him aboard the boat and started CPR and oxygen. They did that all the way back to the dock and he didn't have any response," he said.

Both victims were rushed to shore and then to the hospital for treatment. The heart attack victim was taken to Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach. His condition is unknown.

The second man was placed temporarily in a hyperbolic chamber at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach. He is expected to make a full recovery, according to authorities.

The incident is raising a red flag for all divers.

At Phil Foster Park in Riviera Beach, dive instructor Jeff Nelson of Force E Scuba, said what happened in Ocean Ridge can serve as a lesson for other divers.

"If you overexert yourself, instead of having one person hurt now you've got two and that can actually divide up the rescue team that's coming to help you," said Nelson.

Nelson said that training must trump impulse because the first and fastest reaction in a dive emergency may not be the smartest and safest one, especially when lives are on the line.

"You have to keep your wits about you, you have to stop and evaluate the scene," he said.

Fellow diver of the victims Steve Sherwood said it was a lesson learned the hard way.

"Thinking a lot more about safety," he said. "I always think about safety but safety will mean more now," said Sherwood.

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