A man died after being pulled out of the ocean off a beach in Cape May, New Jersey.
The 68-year-old man was visiting the Grant Street Beach with a woman around 3:30 p.m. Thursday when he went into the water for a swim. He then vanished in the rough surf.
“He was seen out swimming and then disappeared,” Cape May Fire Department Chief Alex Coulter said. “They caught sight of him face down in the water.”
Lifeguards were called to the scene to help. The man was submerged in the water for six to eight minutes before being pulled out. He was unconscious and not breathing.
Responders performed CPR on him immediately and continued as he was taken to the hospital where he was listed in critical condition. He was later pronounced dead.
“What went through my mind was, ‘That’s how you do CPR,’” Lucy Wagener, a witness, told NBC10. “They were really, really pumping and they never stopped. More people came out and they kept at it.”
There was a moderate risk for rip currents all along the Jersey Shore on Thursday. Officials said the incident underscores the danger of going into the surf while lifeguards aren’t stationed along the water.
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The incident follows another water rescue in Cape May on Wednesday in which a woman was pulled out of the water. That woman is doing okay.
