Man dies swimming in rough seas, officials say

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Witnesses say they saw a 20-year-old man from Kissimmee give his girlfriend a kiss before heading out into the surf at Melbourne Beach.

When the swimmer, who was not identified, did not return, life guards and rescue crews scoured the water, but were unable to save him in the rough seas.

He was one of three people caught in a rip current at the same time, Brevard County Fire Rescue said.

The other two individuals were rescued, but the Kissimmee man had been pulled under, officials said.

A search and recovery effort was immediately initiated, and about 30 rescue personnel worked to find and save the man.

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The man went into the water at about 6 p.m., just after a thunderstorm rolled through the area, officials said.

At about 6:45 p.m., his body was found about 40 yards from where he was last seen, officials said.

The waters were rough, and looked dangerous, eyewitness Zulma Perez said.

“The waves were really, really high after the storm,” she said. “It was still drizzling at the time and tides were real high.

“I was scared to even go in the water.”

Another swimmer in the same area had already been pulled from the water at about 4:30 p.m. at North Spessard Holland beach.

The 53-year-old swimmer had to be revived by rescuers and was taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center, officials said.

The swimmer’s condition was not immediately available.

Strong rip tides were blamed for the near drowning and the man’s death.

All along the Central Florida coast, life guards were warning swimmers to expect rough, potentially dangerous conditions at area beaches Monday.

“Ocean Rescue is asking beachgoers to use extreme caution due to rip curents and rough surf conditions,” Brevard County Fire Rescue said. “There were 30 beach rescues on Saturday (and) 10 on Sunday.”

Cox Media Group