26 Oct 2008:
Unconscious diver was left dangling from helicopter### Diver Search Turns to Recovery ### US diver accused of killing his wife in Qld
Unconscious diver was left dangling from helicopter
Jan Karon and one of the coastguard rescuers were being lifted up into the aircraft after a sea rescue operation when the line stopped. He was hoisted up about 10 feet when it happened.
The rescuer carried out CPR on the 54-year-old diver while suspended in the air over the sea off Portland, Dorset.
The helicopter flew to the nearest point of land and Mr Karon was placed into the back of the helicopter as soon as the craft touched down.
He was flown to Dorset County Hospital, where he died.
A coastguard spokesman said Mr Karon was hanging in the air for "two to three" minutes and there was nothing to suggest the winch fault led to his death.
Jan Karon surfaced from a dive unconscious and the crew of the dive boat, the Shiraz, recovered him from the sea and raised the alarm.
A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman reported the craft had a second winch but it would have taken longer to use it.
Mr Karon, 54, an HGV instructor for DHL left his wife Shirley Karon, 51, and two daughters Tasha, 13, and Emma, 11. They described Mr Karon as a loving husband and dad.
Mrs Karon, a receptionist at City Academy, said: "He was always there for everybody, everyone liked him. He was funny and quite a character – the life and soul of the party. He really was a hands-on dad, always taking the girls to football or swimming training."
Emma and Tasha said: "We really loved our dad and he was great fun. We will really miss him."
Mr Karon's family were in Bristol, but Mrs Karon spoke to her husband on Saturday evening, the day before the terrible misfortune.
She said: "He loved the sea, and he loved diving – the girls had just qualified as open water divers and he was so proud of them."
The funeral will be held on November 4, at noon, at Haycombe Crematorium, and anyone who knew Mr Karon is welcome. Guests are asked not to bring flowers but make a donation to the RNLI or Wraxall Children's Hospice.
Diver Search Turns to Recovery
Fairfax County police said the search for a missing police officer who was taking part in the training recently in Pohick Bay has become a recovery mission.
The police department enlisted the help of the dive team, police marine patrol and the Fairfax County Fire Department after 2nd Lt. Frank Stecco who volunteered to play a victim during the training exercise didn't resurface during a helicopter water rescue exercise last Tuesday.
US diver accused of killing his wife in Qld
Gabe Watson is accused of killing his wife, Tina, 11 days after their wedding while on a dive journey off the Great Barrier Reef back in 2003.
Queensland prosecutors want to extradite Watson from Alabama to Queensland to face a murder trial, but his lawyer, Bob Austin says his client would fight extradition.
"We don't think they have a case against him," Austin told Friday's edition of Alabama's Birmingham News.
"But if they (Australian prosecutors) decide they do, it could be to our benefit to resist and see if the American legal authorities side with us."
Gabe Watson is accused of killing his 26-year-old wife by holding her underwater and switching off her air supply during the Great Barrier Reef dive.
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