Massachusetts State Police

Man Pulled From Water at Revere Beach Dies in Hospital

State troopers "did CPR for at least like 20 minutes," one witness said

A Boston man has died after being pulled from the water Tuesday at Revere Beach, police said Wednesday.

The man was identified by Massachusetts State Police as 58-year-old Thomas M. Burns. Bystanders and lifeguards had pulled him from the surf before 3 p.m. and he was unresponsive when police arrived.

Burns was rushed to the Whidden Memorial Hospital in Everett before, still in critical condition, he was rushed to Cambridge Hospital, police said.

But police were told early Wednesday that he had died despite the authorities' best efforts to revive him.

Beachgoer Jaclyn Firestone, who works at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said Tuesday that she sprang into action when she saw a swimmer was in distress.

"The lifeguards were doing compressions. They kept switching on and off," said Firestone. "There was another girl that was helping, I put pads on. We tried to do a shock but it wouldn’t do anything."

Jasmine Jones, who was also at the beach, said state troopers "did CPR for at least like 20 minutes."

About 1,500 feet away, the Revere Fire Department, which had been practicing water rescue drills, jumped in to help.

"We got in our 4-wheel beach vehicle and assisted lifeguards and state police," said Revere Fire Department Captain Mark Wolfgang. "When we got there they were doing CPR with lifeguards. We transported the patient up to the street where we met the ambulance."

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