Rangers responded to a 911 call reporting a swimmer in distress off Coast Guard Beach just before 5 p.m. on October 7th and arrived on scene at the same time as Eastham Rescue. The rescuers found a swimmer on the beach who’d been helped out of the water by several surfers. He was in full cardiac arrest and efforts to resuscitate him at the scene proved unsuccessful. He was taken to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, where he was pronounced dead. Initial reports indicate that the swimmer, a 27-year-old man from Waterbury, Connecticut, was wearing a full wetsuit and snorkeling with his brother off Coast Guard Beach in four- to six-foot-high surf. He told his brother that he was having trouble and they began to make their way to back to shore, which was about 200 yards away. While doing so, they were hit by several large waves. Several visitors on shore called 911 and three surfers in the area came to the victim’s assistance. He was placed on a surfboard, rescue breathing was started, and he was brought to shore, where rescue personnel took over. The death investigation is being handled by rangers. It’s likely that heavy surf and rip current conditions contributed to the accident.
