Father-of-Three Dies after Being Swept to Sea by a Huge Wave in Front of His Family on His Birthday

Andrew Machi, a 39-year-old father of three, has just lost his life at sea. He was at the mercy of a massive wave which took him by surprise on the Pacific Coast.

Tragedy struck a family of five on a beach near the seaside city of Trinidad. While this tightly knit family were out celebrating "dad's" birthday, the worst happened. Andrew Machi, his wife, and their three children went on vacation to celebrate Andrew's 39th birthday; they decided to have fun at the beach.

While felicitating and engaging in usual activities on a beach, a wave hit, grabbed Andrew and threw him in the ocean. In an attempt to rescue her husband, 36-year-old Brandie jumped into the sea and kept trying to reach him, but the wave was far too strong and kept throwing her back to the rocks.

Emergency services did the best they could, but it was too late. According to Cmdr. Brendan Hilleary, response chief at Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay,

“The Coast Guard was first notified of the incident by multiple reporting parties near the scene at approximately 11:40 a.m., Friday, and immediately launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from McKinleyville and a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat from the Coast Guard station in Samoa. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office also dispatched a deputy to scene.”

He further stated that the helicopter arrived at the scene within six minutes, located Andrew and flew him off to the nearest hospital, "Mad River Hospital." But he died anyway. It was indeed a sad day for the Machi family.

A fundraiser has since been started to support the family of the bereaved with funeral expenses. You can find the GoFundMe page here. So far, $48,452 has been raised.

In a similar event, Connecticut man, Michelet Mongerard died in a pool on his 32nd birthday celebration. He was found unconscious at the bottom of the pool by a cousin of his who resuscitated him successfully through CPR; sadly, Michelet died on the way to the hospital.