Diver Dies After Getting Caught in Kelp
A 58-year-old Fallbrook man who qualified as a scuba diver two weeks ago died Saturday afternoon after getting entangled in a kelp bed about two miles off Point Loma.
Deputy Coroner Cal Vine identified the victim as Werner Ladewig, who was diving with his wife, Dia Ladewig, and a third person.
The three were about 50 feet beneath the surface when they began their ascent and Dia Ladewig discovered her husband in trouble with the kelp.
He was brought to the surface and given cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the diving boat. San Diego lifeguards brought the victim by boat to Ballast Point. He was then transported by Life Flight to the UC San Diego Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Vine said Werner Ladewig still had air in his tanks and it was unclear whether the man drowned or suffered a heart attack.
An autopsy was scheduled for today.
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