Southampton police say man pulled from Flanders Bay had died
A man found unconscious and not breathing in Flanders Bay Monday afternoon who was pulled aboard a U.S. Coast Guard vessel had died and was unable to be revived by medical personnel, Southampton Town police said Tuesday.
The man — whose identity has not been released by police — was clamming with a family member near the mouth of Birch Creek when the wind and tides caused their aluminum boat to come off its anchor and drift away, police said. The victim swam after the boat while his family member “kept an eye on him,” but the family member lost sight of the swimmer, according to a police statement.
The family member began to yell and signal for help and a boat from the Long Island Aquarium found the swimmer unconcious in Flanders Bay, police and Coast Guard officials said.
The Long Island Aquarium boat was unable to pull the man aboard, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Michael Fusco. A Coast Guard boat from the Shinnecock station arrived on scene 11 minutes later and pulled the man from the water.
The Coast Guard performed CPR on the man, but the man didn’t regain consciousness, authorities said.
The Flanders-Northampton Volunteer Ambulance Corps took the man from the Point Road boat ramp to Peconic Bay Medical Center, police said. Despite “vigorous and continued efforts” to resuscitate the man, he couldn’t be revived.
The family member was located about 20 minutes later in Flanders Bay by Southampton Bay constables and was pulled to safety, Mr. Fusco said.
Police said the man’s cause of death is still under investigation with the help of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s office.
