MONTEREY, California (28 June 2006) -- A visitor from Hong Kong who died Tuesday while night diving in Monterey was accompanied by a certified instructor when he disappeared under water, a Monterey fire official said. "He was here on a business trip from Hong Kong and he hired a dive instructor," Monterey Fire Department Division Chief Stewart Roth said. Tai Lau, 49, was declared dead at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula at 10:48 p.m., according to the Monterey County Sheriff's Coroner Division. Roth, who was the incident commander, said he did not know if the instructor was affiliated with a local school or not, but said he was certified. "The instructor turned to show him something, and he was gone." Roth said his understanding was that Lau disappeared from the instructor's sight off Breakwater Cove in a matter of seconds. He said the instructor took immediate steps to get help when Lau first disappeared shortly after 9 p.m. Pacific Grove Ocean Rescue, State Parks rangers, the sheriff's dive team, the Coast Guard, Monterey police officers and Coast Guard and California Highway Patrol helicopters all worked together in the search-and-rescue efforts. | | A crowd of onlookers gathered near the edge of the cove while the rescuers searched the water. Lau was pulled onto the beach at 10 p.m., and paramedics spent around 15 minutes intubating, administering heart medication and attempted other life-saving measures, Roth said. Several people who said they knew Lau were too distraught to comment after his body was pulled from the water. Officials estimated Lau was under water for 45 minutes to an hour before he was pulled from 20 to 30 feet of water. "I was told his last time out on a dive was 10 years ago," Roth said. Authorities said it is fairly common to see night divers in the area. The search and rescue effort was exemplary in that Monterey police and fire departments shared a unified command of the scene, Roth said. "We've been working on unifying after 9/11 and Katrina," he said. "You'll find a lot more agencies doing that now. If you do it on the day-to-day operations, then it's a natural process if a major disaster hits." The Coroner Division performed an autopsy Wednesday, but said staff members were awaiting toxicology reports before declaring a cause of death. SCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
