LOS ANGELES — The allure of offshore diving proved fatal over the weekend when a Long Beach man died during an excursion to the Elly oil platform off the coast of Huntington Beach.
Theodore Watler, 64, became separated from a dive group who had hired a commercial vessel to take them out to the aging Elly platform Sunday morning.
The area is one of the most beloved dive sites in Southern California, boasting a lively mix of marine life just under the water’s surface, including anemones and brittle stars that coat the platform’s thick steel pilings. Sea lions dart around the waters, and thousands of fish fill out the lively backdrop.
