The Brief
- Four men went freediving in Long Beach during the evening hours of Wednesday, Dec. 4.
- One of the men went missing a short time after entering the water.
- The missing diver has been identified as an off-duty LAFD firefighter.
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Search and rescue efforts continue for a diver who went missing while diving with three other men at the Port of Long Beach on Wednesday night.
"It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that the missing diver is an off-duty firefighter with the
Los Angeles Fire Department," LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley said in an update on Thursday afternoon.
Chief Crowley said this is an "all hands on deck operation," adding that the firefighter had been with the department for six years with an active fire department within the City of LA.
Earlier in the investigation, authorities said the 28-year-old firefighter was with three other men on a private boat near Pier F Avenue for a recreational dive. They were freediving, which is a type of underwater diving where scuba gear isn't used.
Investigators said three of the four men entered the water, since the fourth man was operating the boat. A short time later, two of the divers returned and said they had lost the third diver.
They contacted authorities around 9:55 p.m. and about 20 minutes later, divers with the Long Beach Fire Department began rescue efforts. Dive teams from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Los Angeles City and County fire departments, as well as investigators with the Los Angeles Port and Long Beach police departments are assisting.
Long Beach Fire Chief Dennis Buchanan called the search "complex," and said up to 24 divers from various departments are doing a coordinated search.
The name of the missing firefighter has not been publicly released.
