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