4 Divers Who Died Misjudged Oxygen

Four divers who died in an underground irrigation canal apparently miscalculated how much oxygen they needed for the dive, authorities said Tuesday.

The four may have underestimated the amount of air required because they were inexperienced at diving in confined spaces such as the irrigation canal, an investigation concluded. More oxygen is needed for such dives than for open-water dives.

The investigation into the cause of the March 15 deaths was conducted by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.

Commercial divers Marty Rhode and John Eberle were hired by the Roza Irrigation District to remove abandoned cars that had lodged inside an irrigation tube near Zillah.

The men failed to surface an hour after they descended, and two volunteer Yakima County search-and-rescue divers, Rusty Hauber and Charlie “J.R.” Mestaz, died when they ran out air during a rescue attempt.

Rhode and Eberle had expected to find the cars near the siphon’s entrance, the investigation concluded, but an unusual volume of water had pushed the cars to the opposite end of the siphon.