Severely injured scuba diver airlifted to hospital

A man who was severely injured while scuba diving off the Tutukaka coast was airlifted to hospital.Authorities declined to identify the 32-year-old diver who was flown to Whangarei Hospital and then taken to Devonport, Auckland for treatment in a navy decompression chamber.
St John Northland district manager Tony Devanney said the scuba diving accident should serve as a warning to all divers ahead of the summer marine sports season to dive safely.
The bends, or decompression sickness, is a potentially fatal scuba diving injury often caused by a rapid ascent, which allows nitrogen bubbles to form in the bloodstream and body tissues.