News
Florida Scuba diver survives being sucked into nuclear plant water pipe
A scuba diver had the fright of his life when he was sucked into a quarter of a mile long water intake pipe for a nuclear power plant.
Christopher Le Cun was scuba diving when he lost all control in a strong current leading into the pipe, which sucks in 500,000 gallons of water per minute for the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant in Florida.
Once he was pulled in, the powerful suction in the 16-foot diameter pipe was just too strong for Le Cun to fight.
Christopher Le Cun
All Le Cun could think about at the time was that his wife and kids were back on the boat. Just when he thought there was no way out, he was spat out of the pipe and into water surrounded by all kinds of fish. He soon realised he’d been deposited into the pond that surrounds the nuclear power plant. Surrounding him in the pond were tarpons, Goliath groupers and other fish that didn’t make the trip through the pipe alive.
He then saw a worker who asked him how he got in there. When Le Cun told him the man said he was lucky because they were all getting ready to leave for the night. He asked to borrow the man’s cell phone so he could call his wife, but not recognizing the number she didn’t answer because she had 911 and the Coast Guard on the other line over her missing husband.
Le Cun has since filed a lawsuit against the Florida Power and Light Company (FPL), claiming the intake pipe was not marked and there was no posted warning of any danger. The FPL officials say that the pipe was marked and that there was a protective cap on the pipe to stop objects from getting in.
Le Cun did say there was something on the opening of the pipe, but it didn’t stop him from being sucked into it. The “cap wasn’t designed to keep anybody or anything out,” said Le Cun.
In fact Le Cun isn’t the first scuba diver to get sucked into the very same pipe. In 1989 William Lamm went through an identical harrowing experience at the very same location. Like Le Cun, Lamm described five minutes of terror while swirling through the pipe until he was spat out into the pond.
After his experience in the pipe, Lamm gave up on scuba diving altogether.
Source: www.examiner.com
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
-
News3 months agoHone your underwater photography skills with Alphamarine Photography at Red Sea Diving Safari in March
-
News3 months agoCapturing Critters in Lembeh Underwater Photography Workshop 2024: Event Roundup
-
Marine Life & Conservation Blogs3 months agoCreature Feature: Swell Sharks
-
Blogs2 months agoMurex Resorts: Passport to Paradise!
-
Blogs2 months agoDiver Discovering Whale Skeletons Beneath Ice Judged World’s Best Underwater Photograph
-
Gear Reviews2 weeks agoGEAR REVIEW – Revolutionising Diving Comfort: The Sharkskin T2 Chillproof Suit
-
Marine Life & Conservation2 months agoSave the Manatee Club launches brand new webcams at Silver Springs State Park, Florida
-
Gear Reviews3 months agoGear Review: Oceanic+ Dive Housing for iPhone