Harold Torfoe, a 73-year-old New Yorker, died on Monday while visiting Anegada , Police Information Officer Diane Drayton said.
“He went out in the water with his brother. They were snorkelling. His brother went up to the beach to set up an umbrella or something,” said Shannon Neale, a registered nurse visiting from the United States who provided assistance at the scene. “When [the brother] went back out, he noticed his snorkel was underwater.”
Ms. Neale said she and her husband pulled Mr. Torfoe to shore at about 2:15 p.m. and performed CPR on him for about 45 minutes. Ms. Neale said she has emergency room experience, and her husband has some lifesaving experience and training from serving in the US Navy.
“We just kept trying to do what we could do,” she said.
At about 3 p.m., officials showed up with an automated external defibrillator, she said. The defibrillator advises whether to shock the patient or not; in this case, it advised rescuers not to shock Mr. Torfoe.
“We brought him to the ferry,” she said, and “waited for the police boat.”
Mr. Torfoe, who Ms. Neale said was visiting the Virgin Islands on a sailboat with his family, was pronounced dead on arrival at the police marine base, Ms. Drayton said. The coroner’s office will schedule an autopsy, she added.