- A diver was rescued by a group of mermaids off Catalina Island near San Diego, California.
- Pablo Avila lost consciousness and might not have survived if not for the rescue team.
- The rescue team was doing an advanced PADI mermaid rescue course.
A scuba diver named Pablo Avila ran into trouble near Catalina Island, near San Diego, California. Fortunately, a group of mermaids came to his aid and saved him.
Pablo was having trouble breathing, but he wasn’t seeing things. Her rescuers were a group of local schoolgirls taking a PADI Mermaid Rescue course.
“Being rescued by a mermaid was like a fairy tale,” said Javier Clarement, Pablo’s diving friend.
Elena Marie Garcia, in charge of the rescue team, says she was practicing lifesaving when she saw Pablo.
The diver had lost consciousness, and if the group of mermaids hadn’t been there to help, he might not have survived.
Javier told FOX 11 that he and another diver were having trouble getting the injured friend back to shore. “We’re pulling it, and we’re tired, and then, out of nowhere, a bunch of mermaids appear,” he said.
Elena says that the group was practicing how to save another mermaid when they saw Pablo foaming and coughing. This is a sign of air embolism, so the mermaids work together to save him.
The mermaids took off Pablo’s gear and mouthed him before dragging him back to Casino Point, which wasn’t far away.
Pablo was placed in a decompression chamber at Casino Point, where he was slowly but safely nursed back to health.
More and more people are swimming in the sea wearing “mermaid tails”. The world championship tournament brings together the best swimmers from the United States and China.
“Mermaiding” started as a special effect in movies, but it really took off when eco-activist Hannah Fraser started doing it.
Hannah’s first mermaid tail was inspired by the 1984 film Splash. His father, Andy Fraser, was one of the first rock bassists.
Since then, Hannah has used her fame as a mermaid to help marine environmental causes.
She made a big splash in 2013 when she went free diving with a great white shark without a cage or armor for the TV show Beyond the Cage of Fear.