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A diver was found dead near Little Barrier Island yesterday, 2 hours after being reported missing by his family.
Sergeant Craig Kennedy, of the police maritime unit, said a call was received from a boatie just after 1pm saying a man in his 30s had not surfaced after free-diving near the island.
It is not known if the man was diving on his own but it is understood relatives were on a boat nearby.
A search involving the police Eagle helicopter, police boat Deodar and Coastguard and private vessels was carried out until 3.45pm, when the body was found.
In another incident off the Coromandel Peninsula, two men who suffered the bends while scuba diving at Hahei were airlifted to Auckland City Hospital yesterday afternoon.
A Westpac Waikato Air Ambulance spokesman said two helicopters - one from Waikato and one from Auckland - were used to take a 37-year-old Auckland man and his companion to the hospital.
The two men had been diving near Hahei, and both suffered the bends (decompression sickness) after surfacing too quickly.
They were treated at the scene and then flown to hospital under the care of St John Ambulance paramedics.
- Staff Reporter, NZPA
