CATALINA ISLAND, California — A woman died while scuba diving at Avalon dive park off Catalina Island. Authorities told CDNN that Mona Towle, 56, of Redlands, died while participating in a PADI advanced open water scuba diving course. Witnesses said Towle panicked at a depth of 19.8 meters and ascended too rapidly despite attempts by the scuba course instructor to rescue her. Towle and the dive instructor, who was not identified, were rushed by boat to a hyperbaric chamber at Two Harbors, which is run by the University of Southern California (USC). According to L.A. sheriff's deputy Robert Domin, Towle died enroute to the facility. The dive instructor survived the accident. 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. | 
