A 73-year-old scuba diver drowned while diving in Point Loma Saturday morning.
The diver was found unconscious by a man in a boat off the tide pool area near the sewage treatment plant around 11:30 a.m.
The diver was rescued by lifeguards via a U.S. Coast Guard vessel to Naval Base Point Loma. A lifeguard performed life-saving efforts, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The diver was using a rebreather device, which is inherently more dangerous than open circuit scuba.
Rebreathers recirculate oxygen and if the CO2 is not removed it can cause hypercapnia.
Symptoms of hypercapnia include confusion, drowsiness and loss of consciousness.
It’s unclear if the rebreather device had anything to do with the drowning.
