Dublin Man Killed While Abalone Diving Off Mendocino Coast

Photo: Rescue and recovery efforts at the site where three divers were killed Sunday. Credit: @FRIENDSOFHENRY1

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A Dublin resident was one of three abalone divers who drowned in Caspar Anchorage Bay in Mendocino County on Sunday, sheriff’s officials said today.

Tae Won Oh, 49, of Dublin, and Hyun Kook Shin, 49, of Suwanee, Georgia, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Sheriff’s deputies did not immediately release the name of the third diver who drowned, pending notification of his next of kin, only saying he was a 53-year-old man from Fort Lee, New Jersey.

According to Mendocino County sheriff’s officials, the drownings occurred when a group of five males who were not from the area went abalone diving in the southern portion of Caspar Anchorage Bay on Sunday afternoon.

Once under water, three of the men became trapped in the surf of a narrow channel between two rock outcroppings from where the divers had initially entered the water.

Sheriff’s officials said witnesses described the surf as appearing rough and dangerous for diving conditions, with estimated seven to eight foot swells.

After a nearby fisherman observed the men in distress, he called 911 at 3:09 p.m., prompting a water rescue operation involving the Mendocino Volunteer Fire Department, California State Parks, the U.S. Coast Guard and
the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, deputies said.

Crews were able to rescue two divers by boat and helicopter, while two of the other men were pronounced dead at the scene.

The fifth diver could not be immediately located and a search for him continued throughout the day. Rescuers were eventually able to find the missing diver dead inside a small cove in the area at about 7 p.m. They were able to recover him using a technical rope rescue, according to sheriff’s officials.

The two surviving men were uninjured and were released at the scene.

A coroner’s investigation into the three deaths is ongoing.

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