A Belmont man who fell from an Eastern Point rock while apparently fishing from the shore has been pronounced dead, while rescuers have pulled at least a dozen other people out of dangerous offshore riptides, prompting Gloucester officials to essentially clsoe down beaches to swimming through at least tomorrow.
Coast Guard rescuers had pulled the man — now identified by Gloucester Police as Nicholas V. Roussos, 67, of Blemont — from the waters off Eastern Point. He had been transported first to Coast Gaurd Station Gloucester, then to Addison Gilbert Hospital. But he had been unconscious when pulled from the water, and has been pronounced dead, authorities confirmed.
Another man was rescued after falling from a rock off Rafe's Chasm in Magnolia. In that incident, which occurred around 4:45, crews reported that the unidentified victim there had "swallowed a lot of water" and needed medical attention, but that he was conscious.
In the face of dangerous riptides and coastal undertow, city officials have given lifeguards at Gloucester's beaches the authority to shut down the areas to swimming "at their discretion," according to an emergency declaration issued late this afternoon by Mayor Carolyn Kirk.
City officials have said that at least a dozen people have had to be pulled from the ocean waters today. The emergency declaration from the mayor's office emphasized that "dangerous conditions due to riptides and undertows persist at Good Harbor and Wingaersheek beaches. In sections that are open (to swimming), swimmers are required to go no further than waist deep."
City officials also reported problems with swimmers reacting belligerently to lifeguards ordering them out of the water, and police have been called to back the lifeguards in carrying out their tasks. But beachgoers are advised that the swimming bans are for their own safety.
"A safety plan is being put in effect for tomorrow, which includes shoreside medical personnel from the Fire Department, police officers for enforcement, and lifeguards in the water to ensure water safety," Kirk's declaration stated. "If there is no lifeguard on duty in the after hours, residents and visitors are urged to stay out of the water. Conditions are dangerous."
Earlier today, two 13-year-old boys who were feared lost while swimming off a portion of Wingaersheek Beach were found safe after a near one-hour search by a full battery of Gloucester police, firefighter and other emergency crews,
City emergency personnel responded en masse shortly after 11:30 a.m. following a call that one of the boys' mothers had seen the pair go into the water but never come out. At one point, responders thought they had found the boys — identified in police radio calls only as Alex and Bobby — but the pair who were located proved not to be them.
That search at times included the Gloucester harbormaster's office and the U.S. Coast Guard Station Gloucester. Just before 12:30 p.m., however, police — who set up a command post off Bungalow Road — reported that the pair had been confirmed safe. The boys were ultimately found on land.
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