A snorkeling trip to one of Key Largo's most popular reefs turned tragic Saturday when a 62-year-old German tourist died after being pulled from the water at Grecian Rocks. Crew members on the commercial snorkel boat rushed to get him out of the ocean, started CPR on deck, and headed back toward shore, where emergency rescue teams met the vessel at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to Tampa Free Press, the victim has been identified as 62-year-old Jurgen Peter Wolz. Witnesses reported that he was found unresponsive in the water at about 1:30 p.m. at Grecian Rocks. Crew members pulled him aboard and began CPR, but Wolz was later pronounced dead after the boat met up with emergency responders. Local authorities told the outlet that foul play is not suspected and that an autopsy is pending.
Where It Happened
Grecian Rocks is a shallow, heavily visited snorkel spot inside John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the country's first undersea park. The park protects roughly 70 nautical square miles of reef off Key Largo, according to Florida State Parks. Guided tours and commercial operators routinely run trips to the offshore reef sites, and the park posts advisories and seasonal hazard information that visitors are urged to check before heading out. Park staff and concessionaires stage snorkel and dive boats from the state park marina.
Other Recent Snorkel Deaths In The Keys
Wolz's death comes amid a string of snorkeling fatalities in the Florida Keys this month. The Miami Herald reported that on May 10, a 56-year-old man from North Carolina died after being pulled from the water near Cottrell Key. In a separate May 26 incident, WLBT reported that a 63-year-old woman from Mississippi was found unresponsive near Mule Key. In both of those cases, officials said autopsies were pending and foul play was not suspected.
Authorities have not released Wolz's cause of death and say an autopsy is pending, according to Tampa Free Press. Florida State Parks also reminds visitors to follow crew instructions, check current advisories, and avoid entering the water if they feel unwell or are not comfortable in open-ocean conditions.
.jpg){kind=link}