Mike Prickett, the underwater cinematographer who captured stunning footage for "Riding Giants" and "Step Into Liquid", has suffered a severe diving accident when he was filming a commercial video in Rangiora, Tahiti.
The 47-year-old Hawaiian filmmaker dove down 220 feet to save another diver who was sinking. Prickett shared air with the man and then had to go straight to the surface without decompressing.
"He used up all my air. I'm glad I was able to rescue him and he could walk away from the incident. I want to thank my family and friends for their prayers", Mike Prickett told KITV News.
The surf movie director has been undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy in order to recover. The accident left Prickett paralyzed from the chest down.
Prickett has already regained some sensation in his legs, but it is too early to make a definitive prognosis. In the next days, Mike will do decompression chamber sessions in order to ease the pain.
The underwater hero had already survived a serious car accident, in 1984.