A 31-year-old swimmer drowned in the ocean off Montauk when he went into the water with three other people, including his 26-year-old fiancee, East Hampton police said Wednesday.
Officers responding to Ditch Plains Beach around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday found the victim, identified as Benjamin Kitburi, unconscious on the shore.
He had gone into the surf minutes earlier with his fiancee and a third swimmer and quickly got pulled to deeper water amid high rip currents. Rough conditions and a strong rip current separated the trio, police said.
Three nearby surfers saw Kitburi unconscious and pulled him to shore, then called 911 and tried to resuscitate him. His fiancee and the third swimmer, who is 32, were ultimately able to make their own way back to shore.
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They got out of the water, then collapsed, police said.
Kitburi's fiancee was taken to a hospital for evaluation. The third swimmer was treated at the scene. All three are from Montauk. No other details were immediately available.
It's the latest in a series of recent drownings to hit the tri-state area so far this summer.
