A man has died after being rushed to the hospital from the waters off Scituate, Massachusetts, Tuesday.
First responders had been searching by sea and air after a man jumped off the Edward Foster Bridge to cool off from the stifling temperatures.
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The man in the water was found about 3:45 p.m., about 37 minutes after 911 was called, just south of the bridge, according to Scituate police. He was taken to South Shore Hospital.
The man died, according to the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office.
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"They were landscapers and they got really hot, so they decided to jump," said beachgoer Michaela Knowles.
Witnesses said the man who'd gone missing was a member of a landscaping crew who had jumped into the water while trying to cool off.
"The current pulled him too much and he just didn’t come up. His two friends tried to keep him above water and then he just, he didn’t come back up," said Nevaeh Dwyer, who called 911.
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The other landscaper who went under trying to save his friend was also taken to the hospital, but will survive.
A large number of first responders were seen near the bridge on Edward Foster Road as the search for the missing swimmer was underway. Police said that's where the man had jumped from, and hadn't surfaced.
Dive teams could be seen in the water in the area, and ambulances and police cars were on on the bridge. A Coast Guard helicopter was seen in the air, as well.
Town Administrator James Boudreau says jumping from the bridge is not allowed, but residents say people do it anyway. It leads to Peggotty Beach, and beachgoers say it can be tricky with the tide. It's about 15 feet deep at high tide and can have a rip current.
"The water is very cold this time of year. You get hot, you jump in, that cold water hits you, you're going to get cramp up you're going to have a problem swimming," Boudreau said. "It saps your strength in a hurry. We urge people, swim where there's lifeguards, know your limitations."
The man has not been identified, but Northern Oak Landscape says he was a Brockton resident and father to two young children.
It's been a deadly year in Massachusetts for drownings, with more than two dozen so far this summer.
