Posted by . on May 20, 2004 at 17:59:16:
In Reply to: Death on the Truth? posted by ChrisM on May 19, 2004 at 12:17:15:
Posted on Thu, May. 20, 2004
News briefs from Southern California
Associated Press
VENTURA, Calif. - A diver off Santa Cruz Island ascended to the surface too quickly and died.
Joseph Longo, 42, of Westlake Village drowned Tuesday morning from an air embolism caused by a rapid ascent, said Craig Stevens, a senior deputy medical examiner at the coroner's office.
"We're of the belief that for whatever reason, he activated the buoyancy compensator," Stevens said. "We don't know why he activated that to bring him to the surface."
An air embolism is one of the most serious risks for divers.
While diving, gas bubbles can enter the circulatory system through small ruptured veins in the lungs. These bubbles expand during ascent and can pass through the heart to obstruct blood flow in the arteries of the brain or heart.
Longo and another passenger chartered the 65-foot boat Truth out of Santa Barbara Harbor for a one-day dive trip off the Channel Islands. Longo was an experienced diver.
"He was someone I've known personally for years," said Chris Callahan-Dudley, manager of Truth Aquatics, the diving firm that manages the Truth. "It came as a shock to everybody."