Local dive experts shed light on Potomac tragedy

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - This tragedy is an elaborate one for search teams and divers as they search these cold waters for the remaining victims.

12 On Your Side got insight from dive teams in the Richmond area on handling a large-scale search like this.

“This incident can go days and even weeks on the Potomac alone,” Henrico Fire Assistant Chief of Special Operations Mark Cumashot said.

Long and grueling hours ahead for first responders and divers as they continue to search the Potomac River for victims and any plane and helicopter wreckage.

“They are trained from the very first start of their dive experience that understands that you’re going to be in that recovery mode at times with this,” Cumashot said.

Cumashot said keeping crews positioned appropriately in the chilly waters is crucial in the hazardous conditions as they try to reach victims and critical evidence.

“One of the best analogies of understanding rescue-based dive operations and the visibility that you’re going to have is close your eyes. That’s easily the conditions that they could be working in, is almost zero visibility,” Cumashot said.

It’s a grim, complex, emotional task, but one dive crews train for.

“Something like this would be completely out of the ordinary obviously, most of the guys responding to this call, this is probably a career call for them, they’ve probably never seen anything this large scale,” Chesterfield firefighter Jake Crockett said.

Chesterfield firefighter and diver Jake Crockett said they conduct a monthly dive drill to keep their skills fresh when navigating different waters.

“We go out and we pick out different bodies of water in the area whether it’s river, lakes, ponds, we dive and we will have different objectives, we may be lifting a car, we may be searching for a dummy or a firearm or piece of evidence,” Crockett said.

Both Crockett and Cumashot said it’s a tragedy no one expects, but they’re ready to step in and respond if they receive a call.

“We understand there might be requests for additional resources, if those requests do come to the Central Virginia area and down to Henrico fire we have already started to look at what that would take to put our resource on the road in order to assist those in DC,” Cumashot said.