A diver who was working with a private team to remove unexploded ordnance from beach areas around the Island was rescued on a remote Chappaquiddick beach in a driving snowstorm early Wednesday afternoon. Calls that went out over the Island communications center emergency radio network reported the man was unconscious when he was pulled from the water and resuscitated by a fellow diver at the scene.

The diver, whose name was not released by police, was working off the jetty at East Beach in the Cape Pogue Wildlife Refuge.

Edgartown police Sgt. Thomas Smith said the diver was part of a team led by West Tisbury native and retired Navy SEAL Tom Rancich. Mr. Rancich could not be reached for comment at press time. The team has been contracted by the Army Corps of Engineers for the ongoing ordnance removal project.

EMTs and police were called to Chappaquiddick just before 1:30 p.m. and were met at the Dike Bridge by the members of the diving team who had transported the man in an oversand vehicle. By the time emergency services arrived the man was ambulatory and talking but was taken to the hospital for evaluation.

“By the time we got there he was doing okay,” said Edgartown officer David Rossi, who was on duty at the time. “He walked into the ambulance and they took him to the hospital.”

Police confirmed that the diver’s troubles stemmed from the over inflation of his dry suit. Pressure problems in dry suits can quickly become dangerous.

The suits, which are designed for work in colder water, differ from wet suits in that they are sealed from the water and pressurized with air that must be carefully monitored to provide buoyancy and insulation.

In December the Army Corps of Engineers embarked on a new $5.2 million round of ordnance removal on the Vineyard that is expected to last until 2012. In addition to the use of Noman’s Land for Naval target practice, other parts of the Vineyard, including South Beach, Tisbury Great Pond and Cape Pogue were used for live training exercises, and it is not uncommon for munitions to wash ashore even today.