Sioux Falls, SD (KELO-AM) Training exercises for the Minnehaha County dive team in the lake at Family Park in western Sioux Falls Thursday night suddenly turned into the real thing. One of the diver signaled he was in trouble and had to be pulled from the water.
County Emergency Manager Lynn DeYoung says to flip a switch and suddenly go from training into rescue mode was difficult emotionally for the dive team, but they pulled it off seamlessly. DeYoung says it took just two minutes from the time the diver indicated he was in trouble to get him out of the water.
The diver was unreponsive and was hospitalized, his condition unknown. The investigation will now determine what caused the problem; whether the diver experienced a medical problem underwater, or there was something wrong with the equipment, or was he snagged by debris in the lake.
DeYoung was not releasing the diver's identify until family members from out-of-town were notified.