Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Mississippi man drowns in high surf at Cape San Blas

A tourist from Mississippi drowned while swimming off Cape San Blas on Monday.

 

The Gulf County Sheriff’s Office said 45 year old Thomas Wayne Timms of Corinth, Mississippi died Monday while swimming in very rough surf conditions.

He was swimming in the area of Seahorse Lane at Cape San Blas where he was vacationing with his wife. 

According to witnesses Mister Timms was approximately 100 feet out past the surf line when he started yelling for help. 

Charles Seguy, a dive master, said he heard the screams and saw a man waving his arms in distress. 

Mister Seguy swam to the victim where he found him unresponsive. 

Mister Seguy attempted water rescue CPR, but the conditions were too rough for it to be performed. 

He pulled Mister Timms to shore and began CPR there. 

Despite all efforts, rescue attempts failed and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officials said two other people at Cape San Blas were pulled out on Tuesday by a rip current, but luckily they were rescued.

Rip currents are a threat along much of Florida’s Gulf Coast and swimmers should always try to be aware of surf conditions.

Rip currents don’t pull people down – they pull them away from the beach, so most deaths associated with rip currents occur when people panic and try to swim directly toward shore against the current.

They usually become totally exhausted and drown.

Since rip currents are normally only about 10 to 30 yards wide, if you find yourself caught in one, the best escape, especially for the weak or non-swimmer, is to wade or swim sideways across the current, parallel to the beach.



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