MIDDLETOWN, R.I.—A fisherman who was rescued off the Rhode Island coast has died.
Middletown police say 48-year-old Gary Mathias, of Portsmouth, died Wednesday at Newport Hospital.
Earlier in the day, rescue crews pulled Mathias from the waters off Sachuest Point after he was swept into the ocean by a wave.
Authorities say Mathias was casting from some rocks at Sachuest Point Wildlife Refuge when he fell in the water at about 4:00 a.m. Wednesday. Mathias was fishing with a friend, who called 911.
A police officer initially entered the water with a life line attached, but the surf was too rough. Police say firefighters brought Mathias to shore on a boat.
Rescuers performed CPR on Mathias and brought him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
