Scuba diver drowns off Point Loma

A man scuba diving off Point Loma in San Diego drowned Tuesday after apparently taking off his breathing equipment and sinking.

The 46-year-old from Arizona was diving with a group on a charter boat a mile off the coast at Sunset Cliffs when he disappeared, according to a report on TV station San Diego 6.

City lifeguards who responded and searched the area found him below the surface about an hour after he went missing.

"He took off his buoyancy compensator which had his scuba tank on board and as soon as he did that, likely he submerged, because he was still wearing his dive belt," said city lifeguard Lt. Andy Lerum, who responded to the missing diver call.

CPR was performed both while transporting the diver to the lifeguard headquarters on Mission Bay and by city paramedics once on land but all attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.

The man's name has not been released.

--Kelly Burgess

Comments

[Bud]

I am a PADI scuba diving instructor and it is very easy when people panic to forget to do the basics they learn in scuba training. He probably forgot to hook his BCD air hose or something like that and removed his BCD after jumping in and let go for a second and his weight belt took him straight to the bottom. Try kicking to the surface even with fins on while over weighted in panic mode!!! He most likly forgot to remove weight belt. (found on the bottom) Yes the simple things are hard to remember if you allow yourself to panic and not think. I can not stress more than anything how important it is as a diver to practice dealing with stress. Yoga, meditation, spirtuality, breathing techniques, and emergency scuba drills with an insructor. Instructors will be glad to work with your family in a shallow area or pool before a vacation and refresh the basics and ask the instructor to go over emergency drills. It will then be a wonderful time to remember instead of the worst possible nightmare! Scuba is very safe. As long as you practice like with any sport and never dive without a buddy right next to you, not off in the distance looking at fish where you are not. My heart goes out to the family of this man. I am almost sure it was an accident, without being able to investigate the scene and bystanders reports.

[SafeBoater]

The Department of Boating and Waterways is continually spreading their message of water safety. It’s a message worth considering as it impacts everyone in California. Whether it’s at the ocean, on the lake,, down the river, or in pool water safety should be everyone’s priority. Find out more at the Department of Boating and Waterway’s website at dbw.ca.gov

[Jesus Christo]

It sounds like he intentionally tried to die. He must have an ex-wife like mine.....