CDNN: California state divers killed during routine pump inspectionPowered by CDNN - CYBER DIVER News Network| Water makes its way south through the Central Valley by way of the California Aqueduct, which is maintained by a team of state divers. |
LOS BANOS, California (8 Feb 2007) -- Tim Crawford and Martin Alvarado were performing what was supposed to be a routine, 20-minute inspection when they dove into the California Aqueduct to check on submerged equipment.
But something went terribly wrong 30 feet below in the murky, fast-moving waters near the Dos Amigos Pumping Plant, about 85 miles southeast of San Jose, and both divers turned up dead Wednesday.
"For reasons we don't know yet, they did not come up," said Sue Sims, spokeswoman for the state Department of Water Resources, which employed the men. It was the first time the department had experienced such a tragedy in its diving corps, she added... | 
