One swimmer has died and another is still missing after they jumped off a bridge made famous by the movie Jaws.
The body of Tavaris Bulgin, 26, was recovered around 6.30am Monday morning, while his younger brother, Tavaughn Bulgin, 21, is presumed dead.
Rescuers were searching for the brothers in the waters off the American Legion Memorial Bridge, known as the ‘Jaws Bridge,’ off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
The search began Sunday night, but ceased Monday afternoon pending further investigation, the Coast Guard said.
The two brothers had been living in the area while working at a restaurant on the island for the summer. Emergency crews were able to rescue two other people who had jumped off the bridge Sunday night, the Coast Guard said.
State and local police were involved in the search, which was strained on Monday due to shifting tides.
‘We broke off the main search just around noon today, after a few tide changes,’ Oak Bluffs Fire Chief Nelson Wirtz told the Boston Globe. ‘With the number of tides that have come and gone…we just have to wait.’
The bridge connects popular vacation destination Edgartown to Oak Bluffs, but attracts a crowd as it was in the background of the 1975 blockbuster film Jaws. The classic movie is set in a fictional New England town, but was actually filmed in Martha’s Vineyard.
The water underneath the bridge can be dangerous for some swimmers, according to Wirtz. Depending on the time of the day, the current within the channel can become stronger, making it more difficult for some swimmers.
‘For someone who’s a good swimmer, it’s OK. I do not know how well these people swam. Certainly if you’re not a good swimmer, you’re going to have trouble…You can easily get overwhelmed,’ he told the paper.
The second brother has been presumed dead pending further developments in the case, authorities said.
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