Man Nearly Drowns After Scuba Diving in Kelp Beds

A 35-year-old physician was listed in critical condition Sunday night after nearly drowning while scuba diving off Point Loma.

No pulse was detected for 50 minutes on Dr. Mark Rubin of San Diego, before paramedics were able to revive him, said Brant Bass, a spokesman for the San Diego city lifeguards.

Rubin was one of six divers participating in a dive in the kelp beds off Point Loma, Bass said. Rubin’s diving partner told authorities they were surfacing from their second dive when they became separated in thick kelp.

Observers in the boat said they noticed no signs of panic when Rubin surfaced at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday. But when he went limp in the water divers when to his aid.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was administered to Rubin aboard the Spear Gunner, a charter scuba diving boat, Bass said. Lifeguards who arrived on a rescue boat also administered CPR.

The Spear Gunner was escorted to lifeguard headquarters on Mission Bay where paramedics and a Life Flight helicopter were waiting and drug therapy was begun until a pulse was reestablished, Bass said.

Bass said while Rubin had no experience diving in kelp beds, he has been an occasional diver for about 15 years.

Rubin was flown to UC San Diego Medical Center, where he was was being treated in a hyperbaric chamber.

Nursing supervisor Jane Swett Bass said Rubin is an orthopedic specialist.