Monday, May 25, 2015

1 MAN DROWNS, 2 SURVIVE RAFTING ACCIDENT AT FORT TABER, MASSACHUSETTS




MAY 25, 2015

NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS

A 46-year-old New Bedford man died Sunday night after being pulled from the water off Fort Taber earlier in the evening, after an inflatable raft overturned in strong currents and attempts to revive the man at St. Luke's Hospital failed, a spokesman for the District Attorney's Office and New Bedford Fire Chief Michael Gomes said.

Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III, confirmed the man's age and place of residence shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday.

Neither Miliote nor Gomes had further information about the person, but both said local and state law enforcement agencies now were investigating.

Gomes said earlier Sunday evening that a male was "unconscious and unresponsive" when he was pulled from the water at about 6 p.m. Sunday. Two other people also were pulled from the cold, choppy water amid strong winds. 
Gomes said he was still gathering information on the incident and how the people ended up in the water wasn’t completely clear.

But Gomes said a small inflatable raft, a type that could be bought at a department store, was involved. Miliote said the same.

Witness reports varied after the incident. April Teixeira of Natick, Mass., said on the pier Sunday evening that she witnessed the incident and called it in to 911, while visiting the South End park with her daughter. Teixeira said several adult men jumped into the water to try and help a person as the raft rounded the end of the pier. 

Gomes said people on jet skis may have tried to help.

Scott Gomes, a New Bedford resident, said he and a friend were on a boat coming back from Martha's Vineyard when they found the half-deflated raft, abandoned, as they entered New Bedford Harbor. Scott Gomes said three adult men were in the water, hanging on to a jet ski driven by an adult woman. Scott Gomes said the youngest of the men, maybe in his 20s, was holding onto an unresponsive older man.

Scott Gomes said they were several hundred feet east of the pier at the time. 
Fire Chief Michael Gomes said New Bedford police and fire crews responded to the incident, and Fairhaven’s harbormaster also provided assistance.

Chief Gomes said it was not clear whether anyone pulled from the water had been wearing life jackets. He urged people to use caution in the water, a message echoed by Teixeira.

“Be careful –the water is still extremely cold after this winter. Hypothermia sets in very rapidly under these conditions,” Chief Gomes said.

He said winds were strong all day Sunday. Scott Gomes described conditions on the water as "really rough."
Source: http://www.southcoasttoday.com