Associated Press
ALAMEDA, Calif. — Authorities and witnesses say a 57-year-old man who drowned in San Francisco Bay on Memorial Day waded into the water fully clothed and remained there for almost an hour before a woman pulled his lifeless body back to shore.
The Oakland Tribune reports that rescue efforts were delayed after the unidentified man ventured into the chilly bay from an Alameda beach Monday morning because local police and fire crews are not trained in land-to-water rescues.
Petty Officer Erik Swanson tells the Tribune that a U.S. Coast Guard boat dispatched to the scene could not reach the man because the water was too shallow. By the time a helicopter spotted him, the woman swimmer already was pulling him toward the beach.
Swanson says the man was pronounced dead at Alameda Hospital.