With another round of tropical south swell pummeling the Southern California coast this week, tragedy struck in Laguna Beach when a 41-year-old bodysurfer died on Wednesday. Identified as Justin Anand Shahani of Laguna Beach by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department coroner division, he was unconscious when lifeguards arrived on the scene at Crescent Bay at about 4:20 pm.
Performing CPR, personnel from the Laguna Beach Marine Safety Department and Fire Department attempted to resuscitate him on the scene before he was transferred to Mission Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Shahani was reportedly bodysurfing with another man in South Crescent Bay when the two got into trouble. His friend also had to be rescued, but thankfully survived the ordeal.
“I happened to catch the guy falling over the falls at one of the worst spots, where we have rocks colliding and everything,” explained a local guy named Eric, who was shooting video when the incident occurred, and was later interviewed in an Instagram post. “Tragedy. It’s just not the place you want to be surfing on a day like today.”
This is the third ocean-related death in Laguna Beach this summer. A 24-year-old swimmer drowned at Crescent Bay earlier this month. And in June, a five-year-old girl was swept off the beach in extremely powerful surf.
Our deepest condolences go out to Shahani’s friends and family at this time.
Related: Tragic Drowning at Crescent Bay: 24-Year-Old Swimmer Dies in Laguna Beach
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