The death of a Norwegian man found in the surf in Holmes Beach earlier this month was ruled an accidental drowning by a state medical examiner.
Twelfth District Medical Examiner Dr. Russell Vega said the Oct. 4 death of 63-year-old Andreas Salvesen was an accident.
Salvesen’s heart disease and the rough surf that day were contributing factors, according to Vega.
Holmes Beach police officers arrived near the 55th Street beach access at 5:07 p.m. and witnessed two men attempting to resuscitate the man.
Salvesen was an attorney and councilman in Farsund, Norway, visiting the United States to celebrate his cousin’s 70th birthday, according to Fouad Acharik, a journalist with NRK Nyheter, a non-commercial Norwegian broadcaster.
When police arrived, two men from Kentucky were performing CPR and chest compressions.
The men from Kentucky told police they saw Salvesen earlier in the day with two women on the beach. One of the men saw him standing in waist-deep water less than 30 minutes before finding him on the shore.
The story in the Oct. 14 edition of The Islander contained an error as to who performed CPR.