4 Romanians Jump Ship at Long Beach

Hours after four Romanian nationals jumped overboard from a ship at Long Beach Harbor on Thursday, one was hospitalized with hypothermia, another returned to the ship and the Coast Guard suspended its search for the two remaining men.

The four men were wearing flotation devices when they jumped into the cold waters at 2:45 a.m. Thursday. The two missing men had disappeared by the time authorities arrived.

“We have completely saturated the area, with no signs of either man,” Coast Guard Petty Officer Jim Roche said. Authorities halted their search after about eight hours.

U.S. immigration officials planned to interview the hospitalized crew member to determine whether he and the others had leaped from the 529-foot freight ship George in a bid for political asylum.

He was identified by Coast Guard officials as Triaore Clorteanu, 21, and was reported in fair condition late Thursday at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach.

Clorteanu had been swimming for 21 minutes in the 61-degree water when the Long Beach Fire Department, Coast Guard and a private pilot boat arrived to pull him out, Coast Guard officials said.

Conscious but incoherent, Clorteanu was suffering from hypothermia with body temperature at less than 86 degrees, Coast Guard officials said.

He was carrying documents and extra clothing wrapped around his stomach in air-tight plastic bags, Long Beach Fire Capt. Keith Seward said.

At the hospital, according to Seward, Clorteanu identified the three men who also jumped ship as Romanian, and indicated that he wanted to seek refuge in the United States. Federal officials could not confirm Clorteanu’s intentions Thursday.

Immigration and Naturalization Service officials attempted to interview Clorteanu at the hospital, but were unable to find a qualified interpreter.

According to officials, a second man jumped into the water with Clorteanu but immediately turned around and swam back to the ship, where crew members lifted him aboard. It was not clear late Thursday whether he had been interviewed by INS officials.

The four men had been discovered by the crew of the Bahamian-registered vessel as stowaways, and subsequently were hired to work on the ship, Coast Guard officials said.

The vessel was anchored about three-quarters of a mile offshore Wednesday afternoon, waiting to be refueled, when the Coast Guard approached for a routine on-board safety drill inspection. After failing the inspections, the ship’s crew was ordered to remain in the harbor until they could pass Coast Guard tests at a later date.