A 20-year-old Gainesville man died Friday in an apparent drowning on the northern part of Clearwater Beach.
Just after 6 p.m., Ryan Terry was swimming about 30 yards off shore with Donald L. Duncan, 41, also of Gainesville, when Terry went underwater, Clearwater, Fla., police spokesman Rob Shaw said.
The two were swimming in an area of the beach not staffed by lifeguards, Shaw said, though he added that most of the beach wouldn’t be staffed by lifeguards that late in the day.
An officer near the shore was alerted and pulled Duncan from the water, but was unable to retrieve Terry, Shaw said.
U.S. Coast Guard, Clearwater Fire and Rescue and police searched to find Terry, which they eventually did. They performed CPR on the man, but soon pronounced him dead, Shaw said.
A 60-year-old cardiologist from Montreal happened to be in the area and helped treat Duncan before he was taken to Morton Plant Hospital, Shaw said. His condition was unknown, but he was expected to be OK.
Duncan and Terry, who worked together in Georgia, were staying with others at a hotel in Orlando, but traveled to Clearwater for the day. A strong current and choppy water may have contributed to the incident, Shaw said.
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