Doomed bid to rescue 'buddy' led diver to his death, inquest told

Tragedy struck when diving "buddies" Stephen Bailey, 49, and Malcolm Exley, 52, were returning from exploring a wreck more than 150ft down on the seabed eight miles off Filey Brigg.

The previous two divers, Christopher Baker and Tony Barron, had been able to go up and down the dive boat's anchor rope during the expedition by Filey Sub Aqua Club on August 3 2009.

But an inquest was told while the second pair of divers were on the seabed it was necessary for them to free the anchor so it could be hauled up again ready for the vessel's return to shore.

This meant they had to find their way back to the surface using their own flotation buoys, coming up gradually by letting air out of their life jackets, and checking their wristwatch-type dive computers to make sure they were not going too fast.

Mr Exley's buoy was fired from a reel which tended to deploy a great deal of nylon cord very quickly in its wake. It was believed that the cord wrapped itself around his body several times, possibly pinning his arms.

Watching from the boat, Mr Baker saw Mr Exley's buoy appear but fail to rise above the surface – as if the weight of his body was holding it down.

Analysis of the men's dive computers suggested the buoy may have ridden rapidly to the surface, dragging Mr Exley with it and leaving no chance for the vital decompression breaks.

As Mr Baker watched the buoy went down again. But the sea was calm enough to follow the bubbles from the breathing gear on the surface.

Then Mr Exley surfaced with his suit fully inflated, bleeding and foaming at the mouth, entangled in the twine. Mr Baker got him on board and called the coastguard while Mr Barron gave Mr Exley heart massage and the kiss of life.

Three minutes later, Mr Bailey surfaced, giving a distress signal, while Mr Baker was on the phone to the 999 services. Mr Baker told the emergency operator: "I think I have got a second casualty."

Mr Bailey only had time to groan that he ached all over before he lost consciousness. Both men were winched aboard a search and rescue helicopter but died the same day at Hull Royal Infirmary.

The inquest in Scarborough was told while it was likely Mr Exley had got into difficulties first while deploying the buoy it was not clear why Mr Bailey had not taken more time coming up. He may have been running out of air after going back for Mr Exley.

Most of Mr Bailey's equipment became detached during the attempt to save him and sank to the bottom. But examination of Mr Exley's gear showed some of it needed servicing.

Coroner Michael Oakley said the condition of Mr Exley's respirator equipment meant he would have had to work much harder to breathe while using it.

While this was not the direct cause of the tragedy Mr Oakley thought it might have made things worse when Mr Exley got into difficulties. "Mr Bailey has then gone to his assistance but then surfaced far too quickly," the coroner added.

He recorded verdicts of accidental death on Mr Exley, a civil servant, of Willow Garth, Scarborough, and Mr Bailey, an engineer, of Plane Tree Way, Filey.