A man drowned Thursday while jumping with a friend from Frederiksted Pier, according to the V.I. Police Department.
The name and age of the victim were withheld Friday pending notification of next of kin.
According to the police report, at roughly 6:45 p.m. Thursday the 911 dispatchers received a call of a drowning at the Ann Abramson Pier in Frederiksted.
A friend of the drowned male explained to responding officers that the two of them had jumped off of the pier into the water. As he surfaced he heard his friend gasping for help. The man told police he tried to assist his friend, but the man began to panic and started pulling him down into the water as well.
The surviving young man managed to get to the ladder of the dock and began calling out for help from a group of divers that were packing up their gear after a dive.
Hearing the plea for assistance, the divers donned their gear and dove into the water. They located the distressed man and brought him to the surface after he had been submerged for approximately 20 minutes.
Members of the VIPD, V.I. Fire Service Frederiksted station and St. Croix Rescue took turns administering CPR.
The victim’s body was transported to the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center by ambulance, where medics made several unsuccessful attempts to resuscitate the man. He was pronounced dead at 8:08 p.m.
