Local media reports today that a difficult rescue operation was carried out at Wied iż-Żurrieq, limits of the village of Qrendi, a diving site known well as being the entry point for diving the Wreck of the Um-el-Faroud wreck.
Images published on local media and accompanying reports and statements indicate that both a helicopter and a Civil Protection RHIB were used in the operation. Five divers were rescued and one diver is reported to have been taken to Mater Dei Hospital (the main general hospital in Malta which also provides Hyperbaric treatment). His/Her condition is unknown at the time of writing.
An official statement in Maltese by the Armed Forces of Malta states that:
“Five divers were rescued in a joint effort between the Armed Forces of Malta and the Department of Civil Protection in a rescue operation in the seas beyond the Żurrieq Valley.
The work was considered very difficult both because of the strong current that was there and also the strong wind that is ruling the Maltese islands.
It was the Red Cross that notified the Armed Forces that there were five divers in difficulty after being carried away by the current and the waves.
The Armed Forces immediately sent a helicopter and the Melita 2 in the area while the Civil Protection sent a detachment of fire-engines with rhib.
One of the divers was rescued by the army helicopter that landed him in the Żurrieq Valley with a winch so that he could be taken to the Mater Dei Hospital by an ambulance that arrived on the scene. The other four divers were picked up on a Civil Protection rhib and brought down to the ground safe and sound in Marsaxlokk.“
The Islands are currently at the receiving end of the first North-West Force 5 to 6 winds which are expected to last until next week with little reprieve after a very unusually calm but hot summer.
We also remind those who might have been exposed to this accident or that may have otherwise suffered shock or mental anxiety to use services such as Olli chat, run by the Richmond Foundation or Helpline 1770.
