Diver’s body found off coast

Unidentified man reportedly went into ‘distress’ near an oil platform nine miles off Long Beach.

With the help of a deepdive drone, a special Los Angeles County sheriff ’s team was able to find the body of a missing diver off the coast of Long Beach early Sunday, authorities said.

The diver, who was described only as a male his mid-50s, has not been identified.

A crew member aboard a commercial dive vessel reported that the man went into “distress” at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, when he was submerged about 9 miles offshore near the oil platform Elly, where the water is almost 270 feet deep.

A sheriff ’s dive team discovered his body about 7:40 a.m. Sunday, using a remote-controlled underwater vehicle, said Deputy Joe Gordon of the Sheriff ’s Information Bureau. His body was then taken to the L.A. County coroner’s office.

Officials mounted an intense search for the man Saturday, with the U.S. Coast Guard searching nearly 36 square nautical miles for the victim. The Los Angeles County sheriff ’s and fire departments, along with the Long Beach Fire Department, assisted in the search.

By sunset, crews found “no evidence that would suggest where he might be,” said Mark Barney, a spokesman for the Coast Guard, and shortly after, they suspended the search.

Barney said the man’s diving buddy was taken to the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber for treatment of a dive-related illness.