Malcolm-Jamal Warner was declared dead on Sunday, July 20 after he drowned at Playa Grande beach, located near Cahuita in the Limón province on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast.

Emergency responders were notified of a "water-related" emergency around 2:10 PM on Sunday. Three ambulances were sent to the scene.

Bystanders had pulled Warner and the other man from the water before medics arrived.

According to PEOPLE, Warner received CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The other swimmer was transported to a local clinic in serious condition.

Both men were swept to sea by the current, the Costa Rican Red Cross said, adding that the scene was later turned over to the police for legal procedures. The Judicial Investigation Agency said Warner died from asphyxiation by submersion.

Cosby Reacts to Warner's Death

Cosby was emotional over the news of Warner's death. He played Cosby's son on "The Cosby Show."

The veteran actor's spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, said in a statement the call about Warner's death "reminded him of the same call he received when his son died."

Cosby's only son, Ennis, was shot to death in 1997 in what prosecutors said was a failed robbery.

Wyatt said the two deaths, both sudden, both tragic, seemed excruciatingly linked.

"Malcolm was doing what he loved when he died — he was with his family," Wyatt told PEOPLE.

Wyatt also mentioned that Warner had just called Cosby to discuss a concert he had performed in Minnesota. "He said Malcolm was changing humanity." Cosby and The Cosby Show castmate Phylicia Rashad apparently spoke by phone upon hearing the news and shared their memories of Warner.

Cosby told CBS News that, in retrospect, Warner had never been afraid to go to his room and study, even as a teen. They had last spoken three months ago, and Warner was proud of his work with the Minnesota Orchestra, he said. "It was something he was very proud of," Cosby said.

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Celebrity deaths