Massachusetts

Man dead after diving incident off coast of Rockport

The 50-year-old man who died was identified as Malak Hanna, of Shrewsbury

File photo of Front Beach in Rockport

A 50-year-old man who went diving Saturday morning off the coast of Rockport, Massachusetts, is dead following an incident in the water, according to the Essex County District Attorney's Office.

Rockport Town Administrator Mitchell Vieira said the town's public safety dispatch received a 911 call around 11:30 a.m. for a diver in distress in the area of Front Beach. The call was from the victim's diving partner.

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Rockport police and harbormasters immediately responded and found an unresponsive diver.

CPR was initiated on scene, and the diver was taken by ambulance to Addison Gilbert Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, officials said.

The man was identified Monday as Malak Hanna, from Shrewsbury. No further details on his cause of death were announced Monday afternoon, with medical examiners still set to determine what killed him.

The district attorney's office has only described what happened as an incident in the water off of Front Beach.

Just over a year ago, two divers were found dead -- one on Front Beach and the other later in the water -- in an apparent drowning there. They were identified in October 2023 as 75-year-old Alan de Oliveira Leao, of Pepperell, Mass., and 78-year-old Richard Brady of Hampton, New Hampshire.

An investigation into Saturday's incident is underway by state police detectives assigned to the district attorney's office.

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