NEWPORT, R.I. (WPRI) — A 25-year-old Providence man died Monday following an incident along the Brenton Point shoreline in Newport.
According to the R.I. Department of Environmental Management (DEM), he and others were jumping off the rocks at a location known as “12 O’Clock High.”
Eyewitnesses told the DEM the man was climbing out of the water when he was knocked back in by a wave and couldn’t get back out.
Newport Fire Deputy Chief Michael Ferreira told Eyewitness News they got the call around 3 p.m. and arrived to find the man unconscious.
“When our first crews got on scene, we found that there wasn’t anyone in the water, but at the bottom of about a 30-foot rock face, there was a man up on the rocks that needed medical attention,” Ferreira said.
First responders performed life-saving measures before taking the man to Newport Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the DEM said. His name has not been released.
Environmental and Newport police continue to investigate the incident.
The DEM issued a reminder that jumping and diving are prohibited in that area.
“The coastal, rocky areas can be dangerous at times, especially this time of year,” Ferreira said. “There’s algae that grows on the rocks that can be very slippery, so if you’re not from the area, if you don’t know the area, just be careful around unknown rocky coastline.”
