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Two hurt in 'tombstoning' dives | Two hurt in 'tombstoning' dives |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Two men in their 20s have suffered serious injuries in what coastguards believe were incidents of "tombstoning" in southern England. | |
One of the victims was rescued by lifeguards after plunging 30ft (9.1m) from a cliff into 3ft (0.9m) of water at Whitsand Bay, Cornwall, on Saturday. A 20-year-old man was seriously hurt on Sunday when he plunged from a pier in Southsea, Hants, into shallow water. | |
Police said they were investigating whether the man jumped or fell. | |
Coastguards, who said they believed the 20-year-old was "tombstoning", renewed warnings about the practice. | |
Dave Scullion, from Brixham Coastguard, said diving from height into water was "madness", as tidal flows altered the depth dramatically. | |
He said: "This is one way to ruin not only a pleasant afternoon for yourself, but very possibly the rest of your life. Coastguards have renewed warnings about "tombstoning" | |
"Tombstoning is madness whichever way you look at it. An individual has no real idea what's under the water they are jumping in." | "Tombstoning is madness whichever way you look at it. An individual has no real idea what's under the water they are jumping in." |
He spoke after the man in Cornwall was flown to hospital strapped to a spinal board. | |
Coastguards said when he was rescued he was slipping in and out of consciousness and had no feeling in his legs. | Coastguards said when he was rescued he was slipping in and out of consciousness and had no feeling in his legs. |
The Tamar Coastguard Rescue team cleared the area while he was winched on to a helicopter. | The Tamar Coastguard Rescue team cleared the area while he was winched on to a helicopter. |
A helicopter was also called to rescue the man injured after plunging from Southsea's South Parade Pier. | |
He was taken to the Queen Alexandra Hospital for treatment. |