NAHANT — A 37-year-old man died in the waters off of Nahant after diving near the town’s wharf Saturday morning.
According to a statement from the United States Coast Guard, watchstanders at the Sector Boston command center received notification at 10 a.m. from the captain of the charter boat “Keep-Ah” that one of the ship’s divers did not surface when expected.
Coast Guard crews from Station Boston, Station Point Allerton, and Air Station Cape Cod were sent in for the initial search.
At 10:25 a.m. Nahant firefighters were sent to the Town Wharf after they received the call regarding the missing diver, according to a statement by Fire Chief Michael Feinberg. Emergency crews from Nahant, Beverly, and Massachusetts State Police scrambled to the scene to join in on the coordinated search.
Beverly Fire Department divers located the unresponsive man just before noon, according to Feinberg. As of Saturday afternoon, officials have not publicly identified the victim.
“I want to thank the Beverly Fire Department divers for their efforts, as well as all of our mutual aid partners for their support this morning,” Feinberg said in the statement. “Everyone worked efficiently to locate the victim despite very dangerous conditions on the water, and I commend them for their commitment.”
The diver’s body was brought to Seaport Landing Marina in Lynn, according to the Coast Guard.
Dave McQuarrie, assistant manager of the Seaport Landing Marina, said he got to the Lynn dock at 9 a.m. to work on some general maintenance. Shortly before 11 a.m. he said he started to see emergency personnel swarming the area. They told him about the unresponsive diver, that they needed the marina, and he was not allowed to go back down on the dock.
“I would not have gone out on the water today,” said McQuarrie. “The wind was blowing over 20 miles an hour. It was just too rough out there.”
The incident remains under active investigation by the Essex County District Attorney’s Office and the Massachusetts State Police.
Bella diGrazia can be reached at [email protected].
