Jerimiah Isreale, 34, recently drowned in West Point Lake in Georgia in fatal attempt to save his father’s life.
Sergeant Stewart Smith, Troup County Sherriff, said Jerimiah and his dad were both fishing on the lake on Sunday night before they tied the boat to a bridge and fell asleep.
Allegedly during the night, Jerimiah’s father woke up and headed to the bathroom — mistakenly believing he was in his own home and fell from the boat.
Smith recounted that Israel jumped into the water to save his dad but he never resurfaced from the water.
A group of boaters who were nearby witnessed the incident and rushed over to rescue the father, helping him back to West Georgia Medical Center and later released.
Later, Jerimiah’s body was recovered from the lake a day later.
The incident is currently being investigated as an apparent accidental drowning.
Should you ever find yourself in open waters unexpectedly, we have a few tips for you:
Stay calm, cool and collected
Once you are in open water, it is vital to get over the shock as quickly as possible and remain calm to the best of your ability.
While it may seem impossible, your chances will be much greater if you do not expend all of your precious energy by panicking and thrashing. In addition, you are much less likely to attract sharks if you keep splashing to a minimum.
Just keep floating
Things are very hard if you do not have anything to hold onto and keep yourself afloat. But there are a few tricks you can use if you are in a situation.
Floating on your back with your arms and legs outstretched and gently moving your arms to help you afloat along with keeping your head above the water will help you reserve energy and combat cold water shock.
And according to the US Navy training on survival floating, in rough water, it is more effective to float face down with your arms out in front, lifting your head when you need air – a technique called drownproofing.
Whatever you do, keep your clothes on
While you may think the clothes are weighing you down especially considering how much water they can retain DO NOT TAKE THEM OFF. They are essential for protecting you from the sun — as you are susceptible to both heatstroke and sunburn when out in open water are there is zero shade available and rays will bounce off the water. If you do have an extra item of clothing, wrapping it around your head will protect your noggin.
Don’t drink seawater
Water is one of the most essential things you will lack if you are in open water for an extended period of time – more so than food. You are better off somehow collecting rain water to drink as it safer than consuming sea water. According to the US National Ocean Service, drinking seawater can be fatal to humans. While humans are able to safely ingest small amounts of salt, the salt content in seawater is much higher than can be processed by the human body. And to rid the of all the excess salt consumed by drinking seawater would mean you would have to urinate more than you drink which would eventually cause fatal dehydration.
NOW WATCH: Sweden Actually Turns It’s Garbage Into Energy | Save The World