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WESTPORT - The state medical examiner's office ruled the death of a three-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y. girl as an accidental drowning after the catamaran she was aboard Tuesday flipped over and capsized off Cockenoe Island in Long Island Sound.
Alexandra Vitale was pronounced dead at Norwalk Hospital after attempts to resuscitate her failed. She was found unresponsive in the water by Westport Police Marine officers who performed CPR on her en route to Compo Beach where she was rushed by ambulance to Norwalk Hospital.
Alexandra was aboard a Hobie Cat double-hulled sailboat with an 18-year-old instructor from Longshore Sailing School and her two cousins, William Howell, 3, and Andrew Howell, 6, also of Brooklyn.
The family has a summer house in Westport, police said. The girl's father, Dr. Michael Vitale, is a prominent children's orthopedic surgeon at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
The Longshore Sailing School issued a statement Wednesday offering condolences to the family and saying they are looking into the incident.
"We are deeply saddened by the incident on the Sound Tuesday morning. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family in this tragic accident. We are still looking into the circumstances leading to this very sad loss. We will provide more details when we know them."
Westport Police Lt. David Kassay said a gust of wind appears to have blown the catamaran on its side flipping it over. He said police are continuing to investigate and reconstruct the accident to determine what went wrong.
"There's still a lot more to be investigated," Kassay said. "(The autopsy results) definitely does not close the investigation."
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