Crew Of Belmar-Based Charter Boat Pull Diver From Wreck Of The Andrea Doria

BOSTON — A scuba diver who was diving on the site of the Andrea Doria shipwreck on Monday afternoon was pulled from deep waters by members of a Belmar-based commercial diving vessel, a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Crew members on the Ol' Salty II administered CPR for almost two hours, but the diver remained unresponsive, Petty Office Nicole Groll said.

The Ol' Salty II belongs to Nick Caruso Enterprises Inc. and has Belmar listed as its home port, according to report in the Cape Cod Times.

Although a helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod responded, the diver remained on the boat, still unresponsive. The boat was headed to Montauk, New York on Monday evening, the report states.

The 62-foot charter boat offers sport fishing and scuba diving trips, according to the company’s website.

The Andrea Doria, which sank after colliding with the Stockholm, on July 26, 1956, lies in 240 feet of water east of Nantucket. Diving on the wreck is a perilous venture. It has often been called the "Mount Everest" of diving because of the extreme depth and the dangers associated with the wreck, which is rapidly deteriorating.

A woman who answered the phone at the company’s office Monday night said the company only takes dive excursions to the Andrea Doria about once a year. She didn't have any information about Monday’s trip or the diver.

Since 2005, seven people have died while exploring the Andrea Doria, an Italian luxury liner that sank about 60 nautical miles southeast of Nantucket in 1956.

In 2015, Thomas Pritchard, a 64-year-old scuba diver with the John Jack, a 50-foot commercial diving boat out of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, was presumed dead after he went missing on the wreck.

Patch will update when more information is available.

Photo: Courtesy of Wikipedia