Officials: Man dies after falling from boat into LI Sound

A Mount Sinai man died after falling from his boat into the Long Island Sound Saturday night, authorities said.

The Hartford Courant said Connecticut State Environmental Conservation Police identified the victim as Richard Melucci, 43.

Petty Officer Frank Iannazzo-Simmons, a Coast Guard spokesman, said his agency received a phone call from the man’s wife around 6 p.m. saying that her husband had fallen into the water near Charles Island in Connecticut.

According to a news release from Milford Fire Rescue, the woman aboard the boat had called 911, saying her male partner had fallen off their 25-foot boat into the Sound, about half a mile south of Charles Island.

They had been headed back to Long Island, according to the news release. The woman was able to give rescuers GPS coordinates to the boat’s location.

The Coast Guard found the man’s body about 55 minutes into the rescue, the release said. Crews worked to resuscitate the victim, who was taken to Milford Hospital. There, he was pronounced dead, according to the release.

The woman on the boat was taken to Milford Hospital for evaluation, the news release said.

Milford police are still investigating the incident.

With Tribune News Service