Yotsie
Contributor
This is in the county south of us. Water Resources is very mum on this one.
Divers killed inspecting intake pipes
California Aqueduct near Los Banos site of tragedy
By VICTOR A. PATTON
MERCED SUN-STAR
Last Updated: February 8, 2007, 04:03:56 AM PST
LOS BANOS Two state Department of Water Resources divers inspecting a treacherous segment of the California Aqueduct died Wednesday after being submerged about 30 feet below the surface in murky, fast-moving water.
The divers were conducting what officials say was supposed to be a 20-minute inspection at the Dos Amigos Pumping Plant near Los Banos.
The victims were identified as Tim Crawford, 56, of Seaside and Martin Alvarado, 44, of Coalinga, Merced County Sheriff's Department spokesman Paul Barile said. An autopsy will determine the cause of death.
"For reasons we don't know yet, they did not come up," DWR spokeswoman Sue Sims said.
Officer Tom Melden of the California Highway Patrol's Los Banos office said Crawford and Alvarado entered the water in the concrete aqueduct at the station about 10 a.m. A DWR safety officer, who had been standing on a platform above the aqueduct, noticed the two divers had not surfaced by 10:35 a.m.
The safety officer at that point notified an on-site rescue diver, who entered the water and found the two men unresponsive, Melden said.
The first diver was brought out of the water at 12:42 p.m. and the second at 12:50 p.m., Melden said. They were taken to Memorial Hospital Los Banos, where they were pronounced dead.
Barile said the divers each used a single tank of oxygen.
He described that section of the aqueduct as treacherous. It's about 75 feet wide and filled with muddy, dark water that rushes toward a large underwater grate designed to stop debris from entering the pumping station.
The grate extends 25 to 50 feet below the surface, depending on the time of year and the amount of runoff entering the aqueduct.
The CHP and California Occupational Safety and Health Administration are conducting an investigation, Barile said.
Don Strickland, a DWR information officer, said the dive began at 10:10 a.m. and was scheduled to last 20 minutes.
Strickland said the safety officer detected something was wrong after seeing bubbles coming to the surface.
The divers were tethered together and inspecting two of the six pump intake pipes at the plant. They were approximately 30 feet under water, with two to three feet of visibility, Strickland said. Both divers were experienced, he added.
"To the best of my knowledge, we have never lost a diver," Strickland said.
Although diving inspections are fairly routine, the work can be hazardous because of the low visibility, especially when diving inside tunnels and pipes with heavy equipment, Strickland said.
"If they were to have a problem when diving inside of a pipe or tunnel, it could present a real problem for them in getting out of there," Strickland said.
"That wasn't the case today. They were not diving inside of a pipe but they were inspecting an intake pipe. What happened, we don't know at this point."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Divers killed inspecting intake pipes
California Aqueduct near Los Banos site of tragedy
By VICTOR A. PATTON
MERCED SUN-STAR
Last Updated: February 8, 2007, 04:03:56 AM PST
LOS BANOS Two state Department of Water Resources divers inspecting a treacherous segment of the California Aqueduct died Wednesday after being submerged about 30 feet below the surface in murky, fast-moving water.
The divers were conducting what officials say was supposed to be a 20-minute inspection at the Dos Amigos Pumping Plant near Los Banos.
The victims were identified as Tim Crawford, 56, of Seaside and Martin Alvarado, 44, of Coalinga, Merced County Sheriff's Department spokesman Paul Barile said. An autopsy will determine the cause of death.
"For reasons we don't know yet, they did not come up," DWR spokeswoman Sue Sims said.
Officer Tom Melden of the California Highway Patrol's Los Banos office said Crawford and Alvarado entered the water in the concrete aqueduct at the station about 10 a.m. A DWR safety officer, who had been standing on a platform above the aqueduct, noticed the two divers had not surfaced by 10:35 a.m.
The safety officer at that point notified an on-site rescue diver, who entered the water and found the two men unresponsive, Melden said.
The first diver was brought out of the water at 12:42 p.m. and the second at 12:50 p.m., Melden said. They were taken to Memorial Hospital Los Banos, where they were pronounced dead.
Barile said the divers each used a single tank of oxygen.
He described that section of the aqueduct as treacherous. It's about 75 feet wide and filled with muddy, dark water that rushes toward a large underwater grate designed to stop debris from entering the pumping station.
The grate extends 25 to 50 feet below the surface, depending on the time of year and the amount of runoff entering the aqueduct.
The CHP and California Occupational Safety and Health Administration are conducting an investigation, Barile said.
Don Strickland, a DWR information officer, said the dive began at 10:10 a.m. and was scheduled to last 20 minutes.
Strickland said the safety officer detected something was wrong after seeing bubbles coming to the surface.
The divers were tethered together and inspecting two of the six pump intake pipes at the plant. They were approximately 30 feet under water, with two to three feet of visibility, Strickland said. Both divers were experienced, he added.
"To the best of my knowledge, we have never lost a diver," Strickland said.
Although diving inspections are fairly routine, the work can be hazardous because of the low visibility, especially when diving inside tunnels and pipes with heavy equipment, Strickland said.
"If they were to have a problem when diving inside of a pipe or tunnel, it could present a real problem for them in getting out of there," Strickland said.
"That wasn't the case today. They were not diving inside of a pipe but they were inspecting an intake pipe. What happened, we don't know at this point."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
