Scuba Diver Dies While Spearfishing : Tragedy: Le Tran Nguyen of Huntington had all his gear on but his air tank was empty when a rescue team found him at a depth of 35 feet north of Laguna’s Main Beach.

A scuba diver died on Thanksgiving Day while spearfishing a quarter-mile off Bird Rock, just north of Main Beach, a sheriff’s spokesman said Thursday.

Le Tran Nguyen of Huntington Beach, who was diving from a cabin cruiser, became separated from a diving companion who later notified lifeguards after the 49-year-old Nguyen failed to resurface.

“It was an unfortunate incident to have to deal with,” said Newport Beach Lifeguard Brian O’Rourke, who operated a rescue boat that began a search with a team of divers about 11:40 a.m. “It was pretty tragic.”

Scott Diederich, a Laguna Beach lifeguard, said the diver was found unconscious on the ocean bottom at a depth of 35 feet. He had all his gear intact, but his air tank was empty.

The victim had his face mask attached and his fins and buoyancy compensator on when he was discovered. A spear gun was also found nearby, Diederich said.

“We just don’t know the nature of what the problem was,” O’Rourke said.

Lifeguards said the victim’s unidentified companion swam to the boat and waited for him.

When it became clear that his friend was not coming up, he contacted Harbor Patrol on the boat’s radio.

It took Newport Beach lifeguards about 15 to 20 minutes in thick fog to travel to Laguna Beach and assist in a dive search.

Diederich said a four-man dive team immediately entered the water after receiving a possible location from the victim’s companion.

With the use of a rope, where divers communicate by tugs and pulls, the team found the victim in about 11 minutes, Diederich said.

Conditions were relatively mild for a dive. A small ocean swell of two to three feet came from the north, and the surface water temperature was 65 degrees. Divers said ocean-bottom temperatures were in the low 60s.

Once the victim was found, he was brought to the surface and lifted into a Newport Beach rescue boat where efforts to resuscitate him began.

“We performed CPR immediately and continued to do so all the way back to the Harbor Patrol headquarters in Newport Beach,” O’Rourke said. “From there, Newport Beach paramedics took over and transported him to Hoag Hospital.”

Lifeguards declined to speculate whether the victim suffered a health problem during the dive.

“A dive incident like this does not happen too often off our coast,” Diederich said. “It’s something that happens, but it’s a rarity.”