Diver survives severed air supply line in North Sea

A commercial diver survived for 40 minutes in the North Sea after his umbilical air supply line was severed.

Chris Lemons, 32, was left without surface-supplied air and heat when his line became snagged and was cut. He was working at a depth of 262ft at the time.

Following protocol, Mr Lemons switched onto his emergency cylinder, remained where he was and moved as little as possible so as to conserve the little gas he had.

By the time his colleagues reached him - 38 minutes later - he was unconscious.

He was moved to a diving bell, where mouth-to-mouth was administered. He quickly recovered and following decompression treatment made a full recovery.

Mr Lemons’ line snagged and severed after the boat to which he was attached began drifting after a problem with its dynamic positioning system, which uses thrusters to control the vessel’s position.

The team, from Bibby Topaz, was working inspecting a drilling structure at the Huntington oilfield off the coast of Aberdeenshire.

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