Officials are urging people to be cautious around the water in the ongoing heat wave after a series of recent drownings across Massachusetts.
Officials are urging people to be cautious around the water in the ongoing heat wave after a series of recent drownings across Massachusetts.
Over the weekend alone, two minors were hospitalized and two people died.
One minor, whose name was withheld, did not have a pulse when pulled from the water at Lake Gardner Beach in Amesbury at approximately 3:51 p.m., according to police.
Paramedics performed CPR and brought the minor to to Anna Jacques Hospital in Newburyport. Police said emergency room staff were able to establish a pulse before the victim was transferred to a Boston-area hospital via Boston MedFlight.
The other minor, a 17-year-old boy, was believed to be in critical condition Sunday after nearly drowning at a graduation party in Dedham. Local police are investigating.
A 19-year-old man died after trying to retrieve a ball from the water at Mound Street Beach in Quincy on Sunday afternoon, according to police. Police have identified the victim as Elissandro Silva of Brockton.
Police are also investigating the death of a man who was found unresponsive by a jet skier at White Island Pond in Plymouth just after 3 p.m. Saturday. Authorities have not released his name and no other information was immediately available.
While people try to keep cool as oppressive heat continues over the next couple of days, the Baker Administration issued summer safety guidelines last week to keep in mind.
Safe Swimming
- Stay in shallow water
- Wear a life vest
- Don’t swim alone
- Swim in designated areas
- Avoid strong currents
The deaths and near-drownings over the weekend are the latest in a series across Massachusetts in recent weeks.
On Friday, Worcester Police Officer Enmanuel 'Manny' Familia drowned after going into the water to rescue a 14-year-old. The teen also died.
On May 27, a 39-year-old Quincy man who was with his son at Houghton's Pond in Milton drowned while trying to retrieve a soccer ball that had gone into the water.
A day prior to that, on May 26, a Framingham teen died after being pulled from Learned Pond. The 16-year-old boy had been swinging on a rope swing and jumping into the pond when he went under.
And on May 15, two cousins -- ages 12 and 13 -- drowned at D.W. Field Park in Brockton. They were skipping rocks near Waldo Lake and did not know how to swim.
