5 Swept Off Rocks Are Saved From Sea

In a dramatic sundown rescue, pleasure boat passengers helped pull five drowning men to safety Sunday after storm-churned surf swept the five off a Newport Beach jetty and washed them about 300 yards out to sea.

Four victims were taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, and one was taken to Irvine Medical Center, Harbor Patrol Sgt. Paul Falk said. “They were all conscious when they left here,” he said.

Newport Beach Fire Capt. Todd Knipp said the youngest victim, in his early teens, was in serious condition.

Hundreds of people had gathered on the narrow rock jetty to watch waves as high as 16 feet, Newport Beach Police Lt. Mike Jackson said.

The five victims were swept off the rocks about 7 p.m., said Jim Frelich, 45, of Huntington Beach, who jumped from his friend’s 28-foot powerboat and pulled one of the men aboard after he had lost consciousness and sunk below the surface. Frelich and a friend then pulled the others on board. They were met by an Orange County sheriff’s Harbor Patrol vessel, which towed the powerboat and the victims to shore.