SAN PEDRO, California — The Coast Guard and the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department are investigating a scuba diving accident that killed a man near Catalina Island. Authorities told CDNN that Jesus Marti, 32, of Long Beach, was found unconscious at the surface three miles west of Isthmus Harbor at about 4 am on Saturday. U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Tyler Stutin said Marti was night diving with a charter boat group at a depth of about 30 feet when he encountered problems. The Coast Guard Cutter Blacktip responded to a call for help from friends of the unconscious diver and attempted to resuscitate the victim. Los Angeles County Baywatch Isthmus also responded to the distress call and rushed the victim to USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber, located on the campus of the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies in Two Harbors. Efforts to revive the victim failed and he was pronounced dead by a USC dive physician. Decompression sickness (the bends) Well over half of scuba divers afflicted with decompression illness report symptoms within 1 hour of surfacing from the dive, some 95% of victims show symptoms within six hours and almost all show symptoms within 24-48 hours. Nitrogen bubbles released while resurfacing cause damage by mechanically obstructing blood flow and can also cause a local chemical disruption of the vascular beds. Any scuba diving accident victim with signs or symptoms of decompression illness, which can cause death or permanent paralysis, should IMMEDIATELY SEEK EMERGENCY MEDICAL TREATMENT. Specific symptoms include: Mild to severe joint pains involving the arms or legs.Itching of the skin, which can progress to other symptoms of decompression illness.Rashes that can be accompanied by itching.Swollen and painful lymph nodes.Pain in the head, neck, or torso, which is often indicative of a severe DSC hit.Nervous system complaints, such as weakness on one side of the body, numbness, pains shooting down an arm or leg, inability to urinate or defecate, or other strokelike symptoms. "Chokes" including burning chest pain, cough, and shortness of breath."Staggers" (indicating an inner ear problem) including a spinning sensation, deafness, ringing in the ears, or vomiting. | 
