Scuba diver thought he was going to die after being sucked into a NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

A scuba diver has recounted the heart-stopping moment he was sucked into a nuclear power station after getting too close to a water pipe used to cool the plant. Christopher Le Cun, a married father-of-two from Palm Bay, Florida, said he was sure he was going to die after being sucked into a pipe at

A scuba diver has recounted the heart-stopping moment he was sucked into a nuclear power station after getting too close to a water pipe used to cool the plant.

Christopher Le Cun, a married father-of-two from Palm Bay, Florida, said he was sure he was going to die after being sucked into a pipe at the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant.

Cun, 30, described how he was diving off Hutchingson Island with friend Robert Blake when the pair spotted shadows cast by large objects hundreds of feet beneath the waves.

Christopher Le Cun, 30, who survived being sucked into a nuclear power station Le Cun, a married father-of-three, described how he thought he was going to die

Christopher Le Cun, 30, a married father-of-two from Palm Bay, Florida (left, and right with wife Brittany), was lucky to survive after being sucked into a nuclear power plant while scuba diving

Cun said he was out diving with his friend Robert Blake when the pair decided to check out some structures below the surface - which turned out to be giant water intakes for the plant that sucked Cun inside

Cun said he was out diving with his friend Robert Blake when the pair decided to check out some structures below the surface - which turned out to be giant water intakes for the plant that sucked Cun inside

Noticing a yellow buoy nearby, the pair decided to anchor their boat to it before going down to check the mysterious structures out.

Speaking to WPTV, Cun said: 'I swam right up to this big structure and it looks like a building underwater. I felt a little bit of current. 

'All of a sudden it got a little quicker and I thought, "this ain't right, this ain't right."'

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Share

Before he could react, Cun was sucked into one of the structures which turned out to be 16ft-wide intake pipes, capable of draining 500,000 gallons of water per minute into massive pools used to cool the plant's reactors.

Cun described the sensation as similar to being sucked over a waterfall, saying he suddenly found himself in complete darkness and still being swept along. 

Cun (pictured with his daughter and son) said that during his five-minute journey into the plant he considered committing suicide rather than be chopped to pieces by a turbine, but didn't want to abandon his children

Cun (pictured with his daughter and son) said that during his five-minute journey into the plant he considered committing suicide rather than be chopped to pieces by a turbine, but didn't want to abandon his children

Cun eventually emerged inside one of the holding reservoirs inside the power plant, climbed out, and asked stunned workers for a phone to call his wife and tell her he was alive

Cun eventually emerged inside one of the holding reservoirs inside the power plant, climbed out, and asked stunned workers for a phone to call his wife and tell her he was alive

Blake, sure he'd just witnessed his friend die, swam back to the boat and broke the news to Cun's wife Brittany, who was sitting in the craft with the couple's young son and daughter.

Meanwhile, hundreds of feet below them, Cun was adrift in total darkness and fearful of being cut to piece by whatever turbine was sucking the water in.

He added: 'I contemplated, you know, do I just pull the regulator out of my mouth and just die? I started thinking about my family, you know, how are they going to survive without me?'

After around five minutes Cun was deposited into one of the reservoir pools used to store water before it is pumped into the reactor, where he managed to climb out.

Cun and Blake admit attaching their boat to a yellow buoy above the water intakes. The power plant says there is a warning to stay away printed on the bouy, a claim that Cun denies

Cun and Blake admit attaching their boat to a yellow buoy above the water intakes. The power plant says there is a warning to stay away printed on the bouy, a claim that Cun denies

Still in his scuba diving gear he confronted a shocked employee who, after several moments of disbelief, got Cun a phone so he could call his wife and tell her he was ok.

Cun is now attempting to sue the plant, saying there were no safety measures in place to prevent him from getting sucked into the pipe. 

A spokesman for the power plant said the buoy that Cun and Blake attached their boat to has a warning printed on it telling people to 'stay 100ft back', something Cun denies.

A statement released by the plant's owners said: 'Nothing is more important safety at our St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plants, which is a reason that we have a protective over the intake piping. 

'The diver intentionally swam into one of the intake pipes after bypassing a piece of equipment to minimize the entry of objects.'

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKaVrMBwrdGtoJyklWKAdYOXaXBrZ4OYwqOtjJ2gr52iYsGmuMusZKannZq7tXnToaaun5ipeqi7yKeeZpyZmnq0wcKknJ1lfoqQjZGgi2SJh4d6n26cq3qFjWWVorKzs8RmoKermZmybr%2FTrqWnnZRixLC%2Byp6prGaYqbqt

 Share!