A 45-year-old Finnish diver was critically injured yesterday when he was hit by the propeller of the boat that carried him and some friends out to sea.
The diver suffered severe chest injuries, sources said, when strong currents pushed him against the propeller’s blades.
The divers were taken from a Paradise Bay Hotel boat to an area known as Il-Ponta tal-Irqiqa, in the vicinity of Comino.
The police said the incident happened at about 12.10pm when the man jumped into the water and was dragged back towards the vessel by the currents. It was quite windy in the area yesterday.
A diving colleague, who was a doctor, administered first aid and the injured diver was lifted on to the same boat and taken to Paradise Bay, Ċirkewwa, where an ambulance rushed him to Mater Dei Hospital.
A magisterial inquiry is under way.