Briefly in the news

-- By June Casagrande

A 49-year-old man was listed in serious condition Monday, a day after

a rookie lifeguard retrieved him from the water at Crystal Cove.

Nathan Blair, a 19-year-old part-time lifeguard, noticed a surfboard

in the water about 11:30 a.m. Sunday and, grabbing his binoculars, saw

the shape of a man beneath the surface.

Peter John Dingus of Mission Viejo was unconscious and underwater for

about a minute by the time Blair, with the help of a passing beachgoer,

retrieved him from the water. A doctor who happened to be nearby

administered emergency assistance, and within a few moments Dingus was

breathing on his own.

Additional details of Dingus’ condition were unavailable Monday, but

he may have suffered head or spinal injuries in the accident, said Ken

Kramer, lifeguard supervisor for Crystal Cove State Park.

“It’s a very stark reminder of just how dangerous the ocean can be,”

Kramer said.

After Labor Day, lifeguard services on Orange County beaches are at a

minimum. Kramer said that, especially during the autumn and winter

months, swimmers and surfers should try to stay near staffed lifeguard

towers or at least have friends nearby when they’re in the water.

He said the incident was the second serious near-drowning at Crystal

Cove since the beginning of summer.