June 19, 1997, News-Times Regional News

Two police divers injured during training exercise

MILFORD, Conn. (AP) – Two Milford police divers were injured, one critically, in a diving accident during routine training drills in Long Island Sound, authorities said. The officers, ages 34 and 41, apparently became entangled in debris around noon on Wednesday, said a police spokesman. One was submerged at least eight minutes and had no pulse when fellow divers pulled him from the water. He was in critical condition at Norwalk Hospital early this morning.

The other officer freed himself, and surfaced to get help, but came up too quickly and suffered from decompression sickness, commonly called the bends. He was in serious condition early this morning also at Norwalk Hospital.

Both divers were among eight officers performing routine training about two miles off the mouth of Milford harbor. Police said the divers were training in murky water about 60-feet deep. Visibility was less than a foot.

“This is the first mishap the dive team has ever experienced,” the spokesman said. The team has been in action at least 25 years. Both men have been dive team members more than five years.