A man has died after getting into difficulty in the water whilst diving near Kinghorn beach on Sunday morning.
Emergency services, including a coastguard helicopter, were sent to Kinghorn beach at around 10am after reports that a person had taken ill during an organised scuba dive.
The man was recovered from the water but reportedly died a short time later.
Residents in the area saw a coastguard helicopter land in the middle of the beach in Kinghorn as emergency services launched a rescue operation.
One local said they also saw a number of police officers and paramedic at the scene.
He said: “There was one ambulance and paramedic response vehicle outside the Kinghorn RNLI station.
“There was also two police vans and at the other end of the road there was another ambulance.
“I saw one officer put what looked like an evidence bag in one of the vans.
“The RNLI inshore rib wasn’t out but there was what looked like a dive boat sat in the bay that three diver were getting on.
“They all seemed to head off at about 11:40am.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Officers received report of a man having gotten into difficulty in the water following an organised dive near Kinghorn Beach around 9.55am on Sunday, 10 April, 2022.
“The man was recovered from the water but died a short time later.
“Enquiries into the circumstances surrounding the death are ongoing. A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”
A spokesperson for Kinghorn RNLI station, whose crew was one of the first to respond, said: “Our volunteer crew responded to a mayday distress call around 9.10am this morning after a diver suffered a suspected medical event north of Kinghorn.
“The lifeboat had just launched for routine training and was on-scene within three minutes.
“Our crew provided casualty care whilst the diver was brought to Kinghorn beach.
“Treatment continued ashore prior to handover to the ambulance service.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Coastguard added: “We were called to a person who had taken ill on a dive vessel just off Kirkcaldy and taken ashore.”
