8/3/15
by News Department on 08/03/15A 20-year-old Philadelphia man was pulled from the Schuylkill River north of Hamburg by emergency dive crews Sunday night after being underwater for more than 30 minutes.
Authorities said initial calls for the water rescue came in about 6:20 p.m., with emergency crews from Berks and Schuylkill responding, along with state police.
The victim was swimming with family and friends when he became distressed and went underwater in a stretch of the river that runs between Berks and Schuylkill counties.
According to Hamburg Deputy Fire Chief Jarrod Emes, he was in cardiac arrest when pulled from the water and was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The drowning marked the second in the area over the weekend. On Saturday morning the body of a 20-year-old Reading man was recovered from a flooded quarry in Robeson Township.
Preliminary autopsy results released Sunday indicate that Demond Link died of accidental drowning at the quarry, according to officials in the coroner's office.
