Malcolm-Jamal Warner was swimming with his 8-year-old daughter when they were caught in a riptide and he drowned last weekend, according to a report on Wednesday.
Surfers saw the pair struggling on Sunday and dove in to help, police in Costa Rica told ABC News. A surfer towed Warner’s daughter to shore with his board, while a volunteer pulled the actor and another surfer out of the water, the outlet reported.
Rescuers performed CPR on Warner for 45 minutes, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. Cops said he was caught by an unexpectedly fierce current that dragged him underwater within seconds.
“Malcolm was on the floor of the ocean,” volunteer lifeguard Mike Geist told The New York Times. He added it had been his friend, a doctor and a surfer, who pulled Warner from the water.
An autopsy confirmed on Tuesday that “The Cosby Show” star died of asphyxiation by submersion and his death was accidental.
One of Warner’s would-be rescuers also got caught in the current and was hospitalized after being pulled to shore, reportedly in critical condition. But on Wednesday, a Costa Rican health official told People that he had since been treated “without complications” and released from the hospital.
There were no lifeguards on duty that day at the Caribbean beach south of Limón, a coastline known for strong currents. That was due to lack of resources, a group of volunteer lifeguards known as the Caribbean Guard said in a statement after Warner’s drowning on Sunday.
Unable to cover all the beaches, the 35-member group had deployed to other areas that had seen several recent incidents and fatalities, said Geist, the group’s vice president.
Warner was mourned by castmates, as well as Gen-Xers who strongly identified with teen Theo Huxtable, whom he portrayed during the run of “The Cosby Show” from 1984 to 1992. His death deeply affected a host of celebrities and legions of fans.
Despite a 40-year-long career after his sitcom debut, Warner often said he counted his wife and daughter, whose names he never released publicly, as his greatest successes.
With News Wire Services
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