Event narrative (NOAA)
Around 1745LST, a 65-year old man who was on land observed a man struggling in the ocean at Spessard Holland Park in Melbourne Beach and two others who were attempting to rescue him. When the two would-be rescuers returned to shore, the 65-year old man went into the surf to attempt a rescue. He then also began to struggle against a rip current and eventually was pulled from the surf with no heartbeat. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he died the following day. An autopsy indicated that he died of a heart attack, but since it occurred during the time he was struggling against a rip current, the event has been listed as a rip current fatality in Storm Data. The original rip current victim was eventually rescued and refused transportation to the hospital.
Other notable rip current events in Florida
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database. Deaths and injuries are those NOAA classifies as direct. Damage is the reporting office's estimate at the time and is not inflation-adjusted. This is a catalogue record, not a forecast.