2 Orthodox Men, Including Brooklyner, Drown in Florida: Reports

• Pictured: Certified Lumber Corporation in Williamsburg

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — Two members of the orthodox Jewish community, including one from Brooklyn, drowned Tuesday morning while swimming off a Florida beach, according to reports.

The Orthodox news website Vos Iz Neias reported that Yitzchak Rosenberg, the owner of the Certified Lumber Corporation in Williamsburg, and diamond dealer Chaim Parnes drowned while swimming off of Haulover Beach near Miami.

Rosenberg lived in Brooklyn, while Parnes was from the New York town of Kiryas Joel.

The deaths were also reported by the local ABC News affiliate in Florida, though the station did not name the deceased.

A woman answering the phone at Certified Lumber on Tuesday said the company had no comment to offer about Mr. Rosenberg.

A spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade Police Department confirmed that two individuals had died, but would not provide further information on their identity or the cause of death.

Erika Benitez, a spokeswoman for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, would not confirm the deaths, as a matter of department policy.

However, Benitez confirmed that two individuals were pulled from the water by rescuers shortly after 11 a.m., while two others escaped it on their own power.

CPR was administered to those who had been rescued, and both were transported to an area hospital, she said. A fifth individual with the group was also taken to the hospital later with symptoms possibly related to the stress of the incident, she said.

Benitez said that the victims had been swimming in an unguarded section of the beach that was marked as off-limits to bathers, adding that strong currents had been observed in the ocean.

According to Vos Iz News, Rosenberg and Parnes were grabbed by a riptide.

The men who were in the water but survived, Aron Wurzberger and Yitzchok Englander, were also from Kiryas Joel.

Rosenberg was reportedly a member of the Satmar religious community.

Last November in North Miami, gunmen robbed Parnes of $35,000 worth of diamonds, according to a local NBC report.

Parnes told the station that he feared for his life during the hold-up, adding that a gun was put to his head.

"If (you) take away life, (it) doesn't come back," he said. "So I'm thankful for God. Today's Thanksgiving. I'm giving up big time for God."

[Editor's note: an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Chaim Parnes was from Brooklyn.]