A 25-year-old man has been pulled from the ocean unconscious and flown to hospital in a critical condition after a diving incident in far north Queensland.
Paramedics said the man was diving off the coast of Hinchinbrook Island, near Mission Beach south of Cairns.
Kev Morgan from the Queensland Ambulance Service said an emergency beacon was triggered about 9:45am and he praised the actions of people on the dive boat who helped keep the man alive.
"Upon arrival, the 25-year-old male was still receiving CPR and still had no breathing and no pulse," he said.
"After some treatment by the paramedics on scene the patient regained a pulse but remained unconscious."
The man was flown by rescue chopper to the Cairns Hospital in a critical condition.
Mr Morgan said the incident showed the importance of knowing first aid and resuscitation skills.
"The people on the boat have done a great thing and commenced CPR immediately and they've continued that for about 90 minutes until the ambulance service was able to get to the patient," he said.
"To have that immediate first aid, certainly with water issues where drowning is a possibility … to have that good quality CPR happening early gives the patient every opportunity."
