An American visitor who died after getting into difficulty snorkelling at the Fairmont Southampton beach property was today named as William Smith, from South Carolina.

Mr Smith, aged 62, was pronounced dead at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital following the incident early yesterday afternoon.

According to police, Mr Smith, from South Carolina, was snorkelling with a visiting male friend in the East Whale Bay area at the Fairmont Southampton Resort at about 1.10pm when he encountered difficulty.

Police said in a statement today: “Apparently Mr Smith was helped ashore by his friend and others in the area who heeded the call to assist.

“CPR was then commenced by beach staff and continued by Bermuda Fire & Rescue Service personnel at the scene, as well as EMTs during transport to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital via ambulance.

“However, despite these life-saving efforts, the South Carolina resident was pronounced dead at 1.45pm Sunday at the hospital.

“A Family Liaison Officer has been assigned to assist Mr Smith’s loved ones at this difficult time and inquiries regarding this sudden death continue.”

One witness, who asked not to be named, told The Royal Gazette it appeared the man ran into medical problems while swimming.

“I think he was having a stroke or a heart attack or something,” he said. “My first thought was it was a shark attack.

“They pulled him in from the water onto the beach and they started to give him CPR.”

He said that hotel staff and emergency services attempted to provide first aid to the man before he was taken away in an ambulance, but he was unaware at that time that the visitor had died.

“Obviously this is a tragedy,” he said. “It’s unfortunate. There’s really not a lot else I suppose anyone could do.”

Another person said they saw hotel staff attempt to revive the man on the beach, with police and other emergency services coming shortly after adding: “There were a bunch of people around him on the beach. It didn’t look good.”

Despite the incident, the beach remained crowded yesterday afternoon with visitors enjoying the warm weather.

The incident marks the third death in Bermuda’s waters in the last two months. On May 19 Wilmis Herrera Moreno, a 25-year-old guest worker encountered difficulties while swimming off Long Island in the Paridise Lakes area. He received CPR, but was subsequently pronounced dead at KEMH. A day later Kevin Keeley, a 52-year-old American visitor, encountered difficulties while swimming in the waters near Watford Bridge.

Despite life-saving efforts, he was pronounced dead later that afternoon.