DEM Identifies Couple Who Died Off of Fort Wetherill in Jamestown
Monday, October 29, 2018
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has identified the couple that were pulled from the surf off Fort Wetherill State Park on Sunday.
The man and woman have been identified as Kongjuan Wei, 51, and Xianzan Tan, 52, of 5 Calumet Street, Quincy, MA.
The Incident
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAs GoLocalProv reported on Sunday, after responding to the 911 call, which came into DEM at 9:33 AM, Environmental Police Officer (EPO) Harold Guise stated that he was approached by Yongjian Chen, 20, who said he had come to Jamestown with the couple to go fishing. Chen, who called 911, said other fishermen on the shore told him they saw a large wave knock Wei down onto the rocks and drag her into the water. Chen said the witnesses told him Tan, who was fishing near his wife, jumped into the water to try to rescue her. Chen arrived to see Tan struggling to swim and Wei slightly farther out in the water. Chen said he saw Tan swimming for about five minutes before appearing to lose consciousness. Soon after, both Chen and the initial witnesses lost sight of both victims.
The US Coast Guard retrieved the victims from the water and brought them to shore where Jamestown Fire and EMS responders tried to resuscitate them. Jamestown Fire and EMS transported Wei and Tan to Newport Hospital where they were later pronounced dead.
Environmental Police estimate that yesterday’s surf was approximately six to eight feet, the remnants of the Nor’easter that came ashore on Saturday.
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