A saturation diver working in the North Sea has survived a catastrophic incident that left him without oxygen for nearly 35 minutes. Chris Lemons, 38, from Edinburgh, was repairing a pipe on the seabed when his support ship's dynamic positioning computer failed, causing the vessel to drift away and sever his vital umbilical cable.
The incident occurred in September 2012 at the Huntington Oil Field east of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire. Lemons was working at a depth of 91 metres with colleagues Dave Youasa and Duncan Allcock. The ship, Bibby Topaz, was experiencing 35-knot winds, which were considered normal for the season.
When the computer failed, the ship began to move, pulling Lemons' umbilical cable taut until it snapped. The cable provided breathing gas, hot water, light, and electricity. Lemons had only a bail-out bottle with about six minutes of emergency gas. After the cable broke, he fell to the seabed in total darkness.
Accepting his fate, Lemons blacked out after about five minutes. His colleagues, believing they were recovering a body, located him and hauled him into the diving bell. Duncan Allcock gave him two breaths of air, and Lemons spluttered back to life after 35 minutes without a fresh oxygen supply.
Remarkably, Lemons suffered no long-term effects from the oxygen deprivation. He later married his fiancée and continues to work as a saturation diver. His story is the subject of a documentary film titled 'Last Breath'.
