A father-of-four tragically died while trying to save his son from a strong rip current at Salisbury Beach in Northern Massachusetts.

Gary Simard was with his family at the beach in Massachusetts when his son got caught in a rip current, pulling him away from the shore.

The father heard his son and tried to save him but he drowned after being stuck deep in the water for more than 20 minutes.

According to reports, his son was taken safely to the shore by two other witnesses but Simard was dragged 100 yards away from the shore.

The grieving family called Simard a hero who devoted his life to his children. His mother Linda described him as ‘the best father ever’ and said ‘he died trying to save his son.’

“My son is a hero. He saved his son and he lost his life for that, but he is my hero.”

Robin DiNatale, one of the bystanders, heard the young boy calling for help and saw the father ‘running into the water and they both got into trouble.’

After realizing what was happening, NiTale immediately called 911.

Another bystander, Jason Evan Iarossi, told NBC10 Boston that waves were around four to six feet high.

“We swam out to the kid. We were over our heads and it was too much. It was too much,” he said.

The other bystander who helped in saving the young boy was Kenny Crosby.

“The kid was going further, and then the dad was running out,” Crosby said. “Then the dad was also yelling ‘Help.’ I had no choice I had to run out there.

“Small, teenage kid. His dad looked like he was struggling. The kid grabbed my hand. We started swimming, and I don’t know. It was just like survival mode.”

The two bystanders managed to get back to the shore but Simard got stuck in the riptide for 20 minutes.

Emergency services performed CPR on the father before rushing him to the Seabrook emergency room where he was pronounced dead.

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