A fisherman died Monday after his boat overturned near an island Down East, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Officials say a pair of fishermen departed on a 17-foot skiff from a marina on Beals Island, located off the coast of Jonesport in Washington County. They were expected to come back from their trip to Crumple Island around 3 p.m. but did not return, according to a news release from the Coast Guard.
A Coast Guard crew found the fishermen near Crumple Island around 5:30 p.m. One of the fishermen was unresponsive, while the other told authorities a rogue wave had capsized their boat.
When the crew returned to Jonesport, emergency officials determined that the fisherman was dead.
Local authorities are investigating the incident, according to the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard declined to identify the fisherman who died and referred a reporter to the Maine Office of Chief Medical Examiner.
The medical examiner’s office also declined to release the fisherman’s name but said his cause of death was drowning and the manner was accidental.
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