Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s 8-year-old daughter was miraculously saved by surfers in Costa Rica after they were swept up in a riptide current during their family vacation.
“Two people who were there at the location went in with a surfboard and a boogie board to help rescue [Malcolm and his daughter] caught in the current,” Costa Rica’s Atlantic head of Tourist Police, Elberth León, told Us Weekly Thursday.
“They managed to stay with the girl, managed to get her onto the board, but due to the strength of the current, one of them had to let go of the board and push it toward the shore so the girl could make it to the coast.”
“And when the person let go of the board, he was dragged by the current, so bravely they decided to risk their lives so the girl could make it to the beach,” León continued.
According to León, Warner “as a father, he fought for his daughter, but the current in that area is very strong, and they couldn’t accomplish the objective.”
As we previously reported, the “Cosby Show” actor was swimming in the dangerous waters with his daughter when he accidentally drowned in the strong current.
One of the surfers and a volunteer lifeguard brought Warner back to shore where he was given 45 minutes of CPR.
However, the actor was pronounced dead at the scene by authorities. He was 54.
Officials listed his cause of death as asphyxiation by “submersion.”
Following his tragic passing, the Caribbean Guard, Costa Rica’s volunteer lifeguard association, explained that the Playa Grande — which is the beach where Warner and his daughter were visiting — is a “challenging” beach with signs in both English and Spanish warning of drowning risk.
However, “due to recent aquatic incidents in Playa Negra,” the Caribbean Guard had “redirected resources there and to Chiquita, another iconic beach known for its strong currents.”
Warner’s drowning allegedly “happened very quickly,” according to the statement.
“Although there were people on the beach who entered the water to rescue him, they did not arrive in time,” the organization said at the time.