LUCKY RESCUE DIVE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22226, 28 September 1935, Page 2 (Supplement)

LUCKY RESCUE DIVE

thirteenth plunge succeeds Hl3 thirteenth rescue dive proved a c ii °-r T l e or an ""employed man at South Hylton, Durham, for it enabled him to bring "P a hoy who had been under water for ten minutes. This inciwas watched by crowds of people l n e TT banks of River Wear, at feouth Hyi.toii, Durham. The boy, Richard Dodds, aged 12, of 6underlan:l, appeared to bo dead when taken out but after artificial respirationi had been applied for three hours by Dr. McLaren and a number of volunteers, ho was breathing regularly enough to be taken to Sunderland Children's Hospital. When Dodds disappeared, Alfred xJniderson, an unemplovod man, and others, d ved fully clothed into the river. 'Bnlderson, who had already dived 1" times, decided to make another effort after the others had given up the attempt a? hopeless. He found the boy lying on <he riverbed eight feet under water witli one arm caught in the rocks. It required a further dire to release him and bring him to the surface. Overcome by his efforts, Balderson collapsed when assisted to the bank. On recovering he said, I was feeling absolutely exhausted by continually diving down to the rirurbed, which in places is up to 20ft. deep. " £ did not know how many times I had dived, but people told me later that Ihe dive which enabled me to find Dodds was the thirteenth. When I got him to tho surface I was ' all in ' ;"nd almost incapable of getting myself ashore."