By Khalida Sarwari
Two teenage boys who died while scuba diving in Monterey Bay late Saturday morning have been identified by the Monterey County coroner’s office.
The boys, both residents of Carson City, Nev., were identified as Stephen Anderson, 16, and Keegan Aiazzi, 17.
Anderson and Aiazzi were on a scuba diving expedition with a group of 17 other divers, Monterey fire Division Chief Felix Colello said.
When the teenagers went missing at about 11:30 a.m., multiple rescue teams were dispatched to search for them, including the Monterey Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as lifeguards and state park rangers.
They searched for nearly 45 minutes, using a Coast Guard helicopter and at least two boats, in addition to another boat from the fire department.
He said searchers finally found the boys at the bay’s bottom, about 40 to 60 feet from the surface, near the Intercontinental Hotel on Cannery Row.
“We’re not sure how long they were down there,” Colello said.
Colello said the boys were found still wearing all their diving gear but were not breathing.
They were taken in an ambulance to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
An autopsy was conducted today.