Never mind the scallops.. I just about kicked the bucket on 40ft dive for lunch
Sea daredevil is lucky to survive
A student told how he almost died while diving almost 40ft underwater without oxygen to pick scallops forfo his lunch.
Jamie Nathaniel,Na 25, was trying to colleccollect the shellf ish for a barbecue with friends, off Oban’s uninhabited uninhab Maiden island. An expeexperienced free diver – plunging deedeep into water without oxygen – JamieJam got into trouble and inhaled so m much sea water that medics later told him he was lucky not to have died. di
The 25-yearyear-old, from Bo’Ness, near Falkirk, saidsaid: “If it wasn’t for Oban l iifeboatfeboat,, theth ambulance, the paramedics, the NHS, I wouldn’t be here. There is no way for me to ever repay what they th have done.”
Jamie and four fellow students headed to Maiden in an inflatable canoe cano on Monday af ter lectures lect at Oban’s Scottish Association Ass for Marine Science. Sci
He H said: “It was a lovely day and the plan was to have a campf ire on the island, islan then I was going to dive for some scallops.” He H and friends Hannah McVicar, M Julie Volland, Patricia Pa Martinez Mulas and a Haleh Mawson were all in the sea when he went under water. He
PICNIC said: “I went for three or four dives and that’s where the memory cuts out. I think I was down to about 12 metres (39ft) and you hold your breath for about one and a half minutes.”
Jamie was found unconscious by Hannah and dragged to shore.
He added: “I started bringing up sea water but there was also a lot of blood as I had bitten my cheeks.”
Oban RNLI lifeboat raced to the scene, accompanied by paramedics.
Jamie said: “The next thing I remember is waking up in the lifeboat and the paramedics were snipping off my wet suit, then waking up in a hospital bed.”
The student was taken to Lorn and Islands Hospital in Oban but concerns over chest scans saw him airlifted to Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital.
When he was discharged on Wednesday the doctor revealed how
grim the situation had been. Jamie said: “The doctor showed me the chest scan and said, ‘It’s been a long time since I have seen a lung scan in this state and usually when I see lungs like this they don’t take the patient to the ward, they take them to the mortuary’.
“I think I will take a big break from diving, for my family’s sake, but I don’t think I will rule out diving again.”
Jamie is the eldest of three sons of Kenny and Katie Nathaniel.
Katie, 51, said: “We are under no illusions how lucky we are to have him there, we are still a family of five thanks to Hannah noticing what had happened and everyone else playing their part.”
Oban RNLI’s Ally Cerexhe said: “We’d particularly like to thank the crew of a local fishing boat who were helping on the scene when we arrived.”