Diver Dies Off Manasquan Inlet

A man diving off Manasquan Inlet died Sunday, U.S. Coast Guard officials said.

A crew member of the dive vessel Gypsy Blood contacted the Coast Guard station at 10 a.m. to report the diver was unresponsive, a Coast Guard release says.

The ship stationed 20 miles off the coast of Manasquan was met by a Coast Guard 47-foot motor life boat crew, including two emergency technicians, who performed CPR on the unnamed diver as he was transported back to the station, the release says.

Once ashore, the man, who Point Pleasant Beach police say was a 63-year-old from Pennsylvania, was transferred to local EMTs and pronounced dead, the release says.

The Coast Guard is still investigating the accident and no further information was available Monday morning, Oldham said.

This was the third accident -- second fatal -- involving the Gypsy Blood since 2008, Oldham said.

The vessel is owned by Brielle-based Gypsyblood Dives, a full-service dive charter operation, according to the company website.

Calls to the company were not immediately returned.

In July 2010, a 30-year-old woman died after she failed to resurface during a dive 15 miles off the Shark River, according to a Coast Guard release.

The woman, who had been missing for 35 minutes, was medevaced by a Coast Guard helicopter after a Gypsy Blood crew member lacated her under water, the release says.

In July 2008, a 32-year-old woman was rescued off the coast of Barnegat after losing consciousness during a dive, according to a Coast Guard release.

A Gypsy Blood crew member had said at the time that the woman was unconscious when she resurfaced but came-to once brought aboard the vessel, the release says.