Port Canaveral man dies after being rescued from yacht during Hurricane Nicole

COCOA, Fla. — A 68-year-old Port Canaveral man died early Thursday morning after he was rescued from a yacht while Hurricane Nicole was bearing down on Brevard County.

Cocoa Police said around 4:30 a.m. they got a 911 call from a woman who said her husband was in distress while they were on their yacht, which was docked at Lee Wenner Park.

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When police and firefighters arrived, they said they found the couple on the boat as it was being battered by the waves and the dock.

Firefighters said they managed to get on the boat and started CPR on the man, who was later identified as Thomas Whittle. During the rescue attempt, officers said the yacht broke loose from the dock and began to drift.

Read: ‘There’s no beach at all’: Brevard County dealing with ‘significant’ erosion following Nicole

Responders said they were able to secure the boat with a rope and the couple was transported to the hospital. Whittle later died.

Detectives are investigating and the man’s cause of death has not been confirmed.

Read: Brevard couple ventures into TS Nicole’s fury to give birth to baby boy at hospital

Video: Brevard County dealing with damage following Tropical Storm Nicole Images from up and down the county’s coastline show shrinking beaches and damage to the sand dunes. (Jeff Deal, WFTV.com)

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