Police I.D. Long Beach drowning victim

LBPD says investigation ongoing into death of Queens man

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Police have identified a Queens man who entered the waters off Edwards Boulevard beach and drowned last Saturday afternoon, in what was the first-drowning death of the year in Long Beach.

According to Long Beach Fire Department Chief Richard Corbett, the 39-year-old man, who was identified by Long Beach Police on Tuesday as Angelo Trikogias, of Astoria, Queens, was in distress in the waters off of Edwards Boulevard. Firefighters immediately responded to a 911 call at 4:11 p.m. following a report of a missing swimmer, he said.

Corbett said that before Trikogias went into the water, he was seen by an eyewitness wearing a suit jacket, and removed it on the boardwalk. According to witnesses, Corbett said, he placed the jacket, and a bag he was carrying, on a bench at the boardwalk, then made his way down to the shore.

“He went down to the beach, and stripped his clothing off down to his underwear,” Corbett said, adding that a witness saw him fold his pants, place them on top of a jetty and proceed into the water. Several, witnesses, who saw Trikogias enter the water, notified the authorities when they observed that he did not come out, Corbett said.

Corbett said that roughly 45 firefighters were at the scene, including units from the Island Park and Freeport Fire Departments, as well as members of the Atlantic Beach Rescue team. Nassau County Police Department’s aviation and marine units and the United States Coast Guard also responded and assisted in the search, Corbett said.

Trikogias was located about 30 minutes later, and pulled from the water by two Long Beach firefighters. He was “unresponsive,” Corbett said, adding that once he was brought to shore, rescue crews determined that he was in cardiac arrest, and advanced life-saving measures were started.

“Every measure was taken, nothing was held back,” Corbett said. “He was transported to Long Beach Medical Center in the back of an Island Park ambulance, with two Long Beach paramedics on board. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.”

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