Waretown man dies at Barnegat beach

A Saturday swim at Barnegat Bathing Beach turns tragic, as a Waretown man's inert body is pulled from the surf, and resuscitation efforts fail.

Anastasio Papavasiliou, 74, was pronounced dead at Southern Ocean County Medical Center in Stafford Saturday, a short time after beachfront CPR efforts proved futile, according to township police.

Officers were summoned to the beach at about 11:15 AM on July 8.  They reported finding bystanders performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Papavasiliou, then continuing the efforts until he was rushed to the medical center, where he was pronounced dead.

According to police, witnesses said that Papavasiliou had been seen entering the water and swimming for "a period of time," then was seen face-down and no longer moving. Bystanders helped the lifeguard on duty in bringing him to shore, police said.

Authorities did not specify a cause of death. They did not indicate whether Papavasiliou was unaccompanied, whether Barnegat Bathing Beach is equipped with a defibrillator, and if so, whether it was employed.