Nanaimo RCMP launch extensive search for missing diver

Nanaimo RCMP launch extensive search for missing diver
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The Nanaimo RCMP detachment has launched an extensive search for a recreational diver who was reported missing on Friday morning.

Police say the diver went missing at approximately 10 a.m. in the area of the Winchelsea Islands, off the coast of Vancouver Island near Lantzville.

Investigators learned that there were two men on a 14-foot vessel and one of the two was recreational diving. When the diver did not surface when expected, the second man on the boat called an individual on shore, who proceeded to call 911.

The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre is currently searching the area with a hovercraft and helicopter, while the Canadian Coast Guard is in the water, along with a volunteer rescue crew.

Ground-based Search and Rescue personnel are monitoring the immediate coastline in the vicinity of the Winchelsea Islands.

Police say that the missing diver is in his 40’s and is of South Asian descent. Officers say that the man speaks little English and was last seen wearing a black wet suit with a diving tank attached.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the missing diver is being asked to call 911 or the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345, and quote file # 2021-30371.

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