A fishing vessel rescued two people from an overturned boat south of O'ahu Sunday, then received help from the Coast Guard to make it back to port yesterday after a tow line became tangled in the fishing boat's propeller, the Coast Guard reported.

The 47-foot fishing boat, Da Opailolo II, responded to a Coast Guard call for assistance after the crew of the 27-foot pleasure craft My Escape radioed that it had overturned 40 miles south of O'ahu and was sinking. The distress call was made at 3:25 p.m.

The crew of Da Opailolo II rescued the two people aboard the Escape and began towing the partially submerged My Escape.

But the tow line became tangled in the fishing boat's propeller, and the crew had to cut the Escape loose about 12 miles south of Honolulu Harbor, the Coast Guard said.

A Coast Guard coastal patrol boat, Ahi, took the fishing boat in tow yesterday morning and Da Opailolo II was returned to Kewalo Basin. The owner of My Escape contacted a salvage company and was weighing options to bring the capsized vessel in.

There were no reports of injuries.