A man died on Aug. 14 after snorkeling in a strong ocean current off the coast of Jupiter, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said.
The staff at Jupiter Medical Center pronounced Kevin Burns dead shortly after 7 p.m., the sheriff’s office said in a prepared statement released on Monday, Aug. 17. It did not provide either a place of residence or an age for Burns.
Burns and a friend had ridden paddleboards about half a mile offshore to a reef and entered the water to snorkel. The current in the Atlantic strengthened and carried both men away from their boards, the sheriff’s office said.
The men decided to swim toward shore. Burns’ friend was alone when he reached the beach and could not see him in the water, so he called 911, according to the sheriff’s statement.
Deputies and Palm Beach County Fire Rescue met them at the beach along the 3000 block of State Road A1A, north of The Bluffs community.
A sheriff’s helicopter spotted Burns in the water north of the reef where the men had secured their paddleboards. Fire Rescue paramedics took him to the medical center.
Tom Elia is an editor at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at telia@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Man dies after snorkeling in strong current off Jupiter. What we know
Reporting by Tom Elia, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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By Tom Elia, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
