Local Diver Deaths

Man Dies During Certification Dive Near Catalina Island

January 17, 2011 2:08 PM

AVALON (AP) — A 61-year-old man has died while on a certification dive with his instructor near the west end of Santa Catalina Island.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Fred Keelin said Sunday that the man, whose name has not been released, died around 3 p.m. and the cause has yet to be determined.

The diving instructor told authorities the man’s body went limp as the two ascended together.

The Torrance Daily Breeze reports that the instructor performed CPR for 20 minutes before paramedics arrived to put the man in a hyperbaric chamber, but he was pronounced dead nearly two hours later.

The coroner will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Legendary Rock Bassist Mark Tulin Dies At USC Catalina

Mark "Professor Psychedelic" Tulin, 62, bass player with the influential '60s group The Electric Prunes and an experienced deep-sea diver, collapsed while performing volunteer work for the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber in Avalon, California. Tributes are pouring in to the USC-CHC page on Facebook under the post:

It is with deep sadness and a very heavy heart that I inform you of the death of Mark Tulin. He collapsed today while helping out at the Avalon Underwater Clean-Up and had immediate response by Baywatch Avalon and Avalon Fire Department medics, but he could not be revived.