Drifting diver rescued from Gulf of Mexico

NEW ORLEANS, May 15 (UPI) -- A diving instructor from New Orleans was recovering Wednesday after being rescued from the Gulf of Mexico where he had been drifting for three hours.

U.S. Coast Guard officials told The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune that John Anders, 33, had been spearfishing from a catamaran-type boat Tuesday when he was thrown into an undertow, perhaps by a malfunctioning oxygen tank, and was adrift in the water for hours.

Anders couldn't be heard yelling by his fellow divers, and instead of fighting against 4-foot seas, decided to drift to what seemed like a nearby oil rig. But the rig was actually eight miles away, and he became exhausted, the newspaper said. A rescue effort was launched when Anders failed to show up for a diver check-in.

He was eventually spotted by another ship, whose crew radioed the Coast Guard. A helicopter already searching for Anders then was dispatched to rescue him. He was not seriously injured. [UPI]