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N.Y. man drowns while swimming in Cape Cod pool

A New York man drowned while swimming alone in a Yarmouth hotel pool Sunday morning, officials said.

William Butler, 68, of Springfield Gardens, N.Y., was reported lying at the bottom of a swimming pool at the Riverview Resort, at 37 Neptune Lane in South Yarmouth, about 11:45 a.m., according to a statement by Yarmouth police.

When Yarmouth police and firefighters arrived at the scene, they found bystanders standing around the pool, staring at Butler, who was in about 8 feet of water, Deputy Police Chief Steven Xiarhos said. The bystanders initially thought the body was a dummy.

Two police officers jumped into the pool and pulled Butler out, Xiarhos said. Butler was transported to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, where he was pronounced dead.

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Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe said Butler’s death is not considered suspicious.

“It appears to have been a tragic accident as opposed to anything,” O’Keefe said, adding that, according to Butler’s wife, Butler had several medical ailments.

Xiarhos said no lifeguard was on duty at the time of the incident; Yarmouth does not require lifeguards to be on duty at pools. Instead, he said, the town requires someone trained in CPR to be on duty at the premise.

A man who answered the phone at the Riverview Resort referred a reporter to the Yarmouth police for comment.

On Aug. 20, a 9-year-old girl from New York drowned and her 12-year-old sister almost drowned while swimming in a Bayside Resort pool in West Yarmouth.

Trisha Thadani can be reached at trisha.thadani@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @TrishaThadani.