SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – A scuba diver who reported an equipment malfunction was in serious condition Friday after nearly drowning during a swim back to shore in Mission Bay. The man was diving in Ventura Cove about 10:30 a.m. when he told his dive buddy that he was having problems with his dive gear, said San Diego Fire Rescue Department spokesman Maurice Luque.

The diver surfaced and started swimming back to shore but had other unknown difficulties. As be began to drown, he caught the attention of the off duty lifeguard and another person on the beach. The person on the beach jumped in and pulled him to safety. They did CPR on the diver and then responding lifeguards used a defibrillator before taking him to UCSD Medical Center. He was reported in serious condition, Luque said. Police recovered the man’s dive gear and will give it to investigators at UCSD who examine equipment in diving accidents.

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