| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Man becomes latest drowning victim in Lake Tahoe area
Saturday August 16, 2003SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) A man apparently drowned Saturday afternoon at a lake near Lake Tahoe, authorities said.
El Dorado County sheriff's Sgt. Don Atkinson said the unidentified victim was swimming in the Angora Lakes five miles southwest of South Lake Tahoe when he went under water.
He was under water for about eight minutes before he was pulled out of the lake, put in a boat and taken to shore.
Efforts to revive him failed and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A coroner's autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.
``It will determine if a medical condition caused him to go under water or if he inhaled water and couldn't stay up,'' Atkinson said.
On Aug. 9, a San Francisco Bay area man drowned after jumping into Lake Tahoe a quarter mile off South Lake Tahoe from a rented ski boat.
Three days earlier, a San Francisco Bay area couple died after a rented boat capsized on Tahoe's east shore.
The three victims were not wearing life jackets.
``People need to remember that these lakes up here are not just fun and games,'' Atkinson said. ``The water is cold and it can work damage on muscles if you're not used to cold water.''
(