South King Fire and Rescue responded to a diver in distress on Saturday, May 15. The call came in at 11:38 a.m. from Redondo Beach.

A group of several divers were out just off the shore when a middle-aged woman began having problems, said SKFR spokeswoman Kendra Kay.

Kay said the diver was reportedly a new student and inexperienced with diving. She wasn’t responsive and citizens on the beach began doing CPR until the medics arrived.

Rescue workers did get a pulse before the woman was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Kay said. The diver’s condition and identity are unknown at this time, Kay said. The Redondo location near Salty’s restaurant is a typical spot for divers, Kay said.

Federal Way resident Matt Weinberger witnessed the effort to resuscitate the diver. He was on the aquarium dock when he watched a group of divers first go under water, he said. Minutes later, there was a panic over a missing diver from the group. Two divers brought the victim up, yelling ‘Diver down! Call 911,’ Weinberger said. He captured footage on his cell phone, although the footage is grainy when viewed on a larger screen.

“The woman was blue,” he said. “It was a very unpleasant experience.”