OXNARD : Diver, 60, Dies After Losing Air Supply

A 60-year-old scuba diver from Oxnard died Saturday after he ran out of air 40 feet underwater and became entangled in a kelp bed, authorities said.

Raymond E. Hebrank, a retired major general with the California Air National Guard, died at 10:56 a.m. at St. John’s Regional Medical Center, where he was taken after the accident, which occurred a mile off the south coast of Anacapa Island, officials said.

The U.S. Coast Guard received a distress call from the Prime Time, a recreational motorboat that Hebrank owned and was diving from, at 9:02 a.m., Petty Officer Gary Wayman said.

Members of the boating party told the Coast Guard that Hebrank had been about 60 feet underwater for 25 minutes when he decided to come up, Wayman said.

But he had only risen about 20 feet when his air ran out, Wayman said.

Hebrank, eager to rise quickly, pulled off his dive belt, which provides weight to keep divers down, Wayman said.

When he surfaced, Hebrank was conscious, Wayman said. But he became caught in a kelp bed, seaweed that has branches floating on the surface of the ocean.

According to people watching from the boat, Hebrank tried to swim out of the seaweed but could not free himself from it. Suddenly, Hebrank came to a complete stop in the water, Wayman said.

“He went belly up,” Wayman said.

Hebrank’s friends pulled him aboard the boat and immediately started cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Wayman said.

Two of Hebrank’s sons were on the boating trip with him. One son was diving with him but lost contact with him during the dive, authorities said.

A Coast Guard helicopter dispatched from Los Angeles arrived with two paramedics and transported Hebrank to the hospital, Wayman said.

Hebrank, a native of Council Grove, Kan., had served with the California Air National Guard for 27 years before retiring three years ago, said his son, Ray Hebrank. Hebrank was in good health and had been diving for a number of years, his son said.

An autopsy to determine the cause of death is scheduled for today, said a spokesman for the Ventura County coroner’s office.