Police have released the identity of a man killed in a drowning incident near Haulover Beach on Columbus Day.
Melchisedeck Fontilus, 27, died after he became caught in a strong current Monday afternoon, Miami-Dade Police officials said.
Fontilus was among a group of six people who were at a sandbar when two of them started drifting away due to the current.
A third man jumped into the water to try to rescue them, but a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue boat responded and pulled all three from the water.
Fontilus and 50-year-old Marco Colon were rushed to a hospital. Fontilus later died but Colon survived.
One member of the group, Andrea Gaybor, described the terrifying moments when she and her friends got caught in the strong current.
“I was in it too, so I was trying to save myself too, so I didn't see what was going on behind me," Gaybor said.
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She said they were trying to save one of their friends, but the current was just too strong.
“He said I need help. We tried to swim. We tried to pull him out, but we couldn’t because we were getting dragged with him,” Gaybor said.
