The U.S. Coast Guard and Orange County Sheriff’s deputies resumed their search Wednesday for one of two fishermen who tumbled overboard near Dana Point Harbor.
Thuan Hieu Dang, 39, of Garden Grove, was rescued Tuesday after spending about three hours treading water, but Tan Hoang Vu, 43, of Riverside, was still missing, said Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Hallock.
Dang told his rescuers they got there just in time because he had been “about to give up,” Hallock said. He initially declined treatment, but then fell ill and was taken to Mission Hospital in Laguna Beach, where he was treated and later released, the lieutenant said.
About 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, sheriff’s harbor patrol deputies received word that an 18- to 20-foot powerboat was circling about two miles off the coast of Dana Point. When the deputies arrived, they saw the boat was empty and began searching for survivors with help from lifeguards and the Coast Guard, Hallock said.
The men fell overboard about 9 a.m. due to a mechanical failure that caused the vessel to lurch and dump them into the ocean, Hallock said. Dang was rescued about 12:10 p.m.
The search for Vu, which was suspended about 8 p.m. Tuesday due to darkness, resumed at 7 this morning.
Sheriff’s officials issued a description of Vu in case he made it to shore and someone sees him. He is 6 feet tall, weighs about 250 pounds and was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, Hallock said.
—City News Service