Two sick passengers caused a flight, en route to Amsterdam, to be diverted to the Island Thursday night.

Police spokesman P.c. Gary Venning yesterday said Martinair Flight 616 from Jamaica, landed in Bermuda around 10.30 p.m. on Thursday.

P.c. Venning said Mario Ten-Hoopen, 31, and Perry Theunissen, 25, were suffering from decompression sickness (DCS), more commonly known as bends.

DCS can develop after scuba diving, when tiny bubbles of nitrogen form in the bloodstream.

P.c Venning said both men were treated in the recompression chamber at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

As of yesterday, Mr. Ten-Hoopen was listed in satisfactory condition while Mr.

Theunissen was described as "much improved'' and could be released today. The recompression facility, where the men are being treated, provides emergency hyperbaric medical treatment for patients suffering from scuba-diving incidents, carbon monoxide poisoning, crushed limbs and necrosis.

Former emergency room physician and diving expert Dr. Carol Ferris once described DCS as the "equivalent of taking the top off a bottle''.

When resurfacing from a dive slowly, the bubbles form in small quantities which get into the lungs and are breathed out of the body, causing no harm.

But when "over saturation'' occurs, trouble arises.

The illness can also occur when someone flies within 24 hours of scuba diving.

Signs of DCS usually begin to appear anywhere from two to 24 hours after diving.

Symptoms vary, but the most common is joint pain. More serious cases can affect the central nervous system with feelings of tingling, numbness or paralysis.

HEALTH HTH