On September 23, 2014 at 1:15 pm, a crewmember of the fishing vessel TERESA JEAN, located off Patos Island in the San Juan Islands, called the US Coast Guard in Bellingham, WA to report that a diver needed immediate assistance due to decompression sickness. According to the Coast Guard report, their response boat arrived less than 30 minutes later and transferred the injured diver to their boat. Ten minutes later, the Coast Guard helicopter DOLPHIN flew in from Port Angeles, WA and successfully medevaced the 22-year old diver to Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle. It is unknown whether the involved diver was engaged in recreational or commercial diving operations. Strict federal and state safety regulations apply to commercial divers. The diver’s condition was not known.
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