Lawrence man drowns while swimming off Hampton Beach

A 27-year-old man from Lawrence drowned while swimming off Hampton Beach, New Hampshire on Tuesday night, according to New Hampshire State Police.

Around 7:30 p.m., state police were alerted to a possible drowning on the beach, it said in a statement. A 23-year-old Good Samaritan, Casey Torname, of Salem, New Hampshire, told police he spotted two swimmers calling for help while he was surfing.

Torname told police he rescued a swimmer, Luis Colon-De-Lara, 28, a resident of Lawrence, according to the statement. But the other swimmer, Wandy Bethancourt-Adames, had still not come ashore, he said.

Hampton firefighters responded and quickly found Bethancourt-Adames in the water, the statement said. They brought him ashore and performed CPR on him before taking him to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

First responders also took Colon-De-Lara to the hospital. He was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Authorities are still investigating the drowning. Anyone with information is asked to contact Sgt. Nicholas Haroutunian at (603) 227-2112 or (email protected).