By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

AN autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death of a man who reportedly drowned trying to rescue his son who had fallen overboard during a fishing trip.

Police are still unsure of the circumstances surrounding the death of a 51-year-old man of Mangrove Cay, Andros, who, around 4pm on Saturday, was on a trip with his two sons when one fell overboard.

The man attempted to rescue his son and apparently drowned while doing so. He was taken ashore and pronounced dead by the island’s local doctor.

There have been more than a dozen suspected drownings this year, according to The Tribune’s records.

Last month the unresponsive body of a toddler was pulled from waters at Montagu Beach. A three-year-old boy was found floating near the shore by a beach-goer who, with others, attempted to resuscitate the child, who was said to have been wearing diapers. An elementary school was having a picnic there at the time.

Two weeks earlier, during the Emancipation Holiday weekend, two men drowned. The first incident, involving an American man visiting The Bahamas, occurred on August 1 in Eleuthera.

According to reports, the victim, 27, was swimming in waters near Valentine’s Resort and Marina on Harbour Island at 7:50pm when he drowned. The victim of Under Hill, Vermont, was pronounced dead on the island.

The following day, police said a 55-year-old man drowned in Grand Bahama.

The victim was riding a jet ski with another man at Fortune Beach around 2pm when they lost control and were thrown off their jet skis.

One of the men surfaced, but the other did not. The victim, who was identified by family members as Dr Havard Cooper, was later pulled from the water and given cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

He was taken to the Rand Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.