The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Navy called in to missing diver search
Alarm raised after man fails to resurface from wreck dive
Specially trained officers are now leading the search
The Royal Navy has been called in to help with the search for a missing Fife diver.
William Peace from Markinch has not been seen since failing to resurface while diving off the coast of Dunbar last week.
The 59-year-old was a member of an organised party at the site of a First World War U-boat wreck around three miles into the North Sea.
The alarm was raised when he failed to return and an extensive search involving the police, Dunbar RNLI and the UK Coastguard was launched.
Investigating officers are understood to have requested help from the Royal Navy.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Police in East Lothian were alerted by the coastguard around 4.40pm on Saturday July 8 after a diver failed to resurface following an organised dive.
“Specially trained officers are now leading the search for the man and we are continuing to liaise with his family to keep them fully updated on the progress of this operation.”
Mr Peace is understood to have around 30 years of diving experience, with several photographs on social media capturing him underwater.
A search and rescue helicopter joined emergency services and a local vessel, Conserver, in conducting a search of the water surrounding the U-boat wreck. However, this operation stopped after three hours.
As efforts continue to trace the missing mariner, oceanographers are now understood to have also been contacted, along with the Royal Navy.
Gary Fairbairn, the coxswain of the Dunbar lifeboat, said: “Our thoughts are with everybody involved in this incident.”