The US Coast Guard and Navy rescued four divers who were reported missing on Sunday off the Carolinas, officials said on Monday.
The coast guard’s mid-Atlantic division announced the rescue on social media. It said the divers were rescued about 46 miles (74km) south-east of North Carolina’s Cape Fear River.
The four men were reported missing after they did not resurface on Sunday. They dove from a pleasure craft named Big Bill’s.
The coast guard said on Sunday in a news release that the vessel was about 50 miles (80km) south of Cape Fear, North Carolina, and about 63 miles (101km) east of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The many shipwrecks off the coasts of both states are a popular draw for divers. The area is known for hundreds of shipwrecks and is called the “Graveyard of the Atlantic”.
The coast guard said it sent several aircraft and boats to search for the divers.
It also released several images of the rescued divers once they were brought back to land.
#UPDATE The @USCG & @USNavy found and rescued the 4 missing male divers approx. 46 miles southeast of Cape Fear River, North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/O7G5PVkyKd
— USCG Mid-Atlantic (@uscgmidatlantic) August 14, 2023
One image showed one man kneeling and embracing a little boy. Another depicted a person kneeling while embracing a boy and a woman.
Yet another image depicted three other people in a hug while a man nearby wiped tears from his eyes and another woman smilingly gazed at the group embrace.
