UPDATE: Kayaker from Kurdistan Region found dead off Florida coast

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Former Kurdistan Region resident Eiffel Gilyana on Tuesday was pronounced deceased after his body was found near Florida's Vilano Beach.

While kayaking close to eastern Florida’s St. Augustine coast on Saturday morning, Gilyana, 46, vanished from sight.

Eventually, his canoe was located, but Gilyana was nowhere to be found. After covering 350 square miles, the Coast Guard suspended its search at dusk on Sunday; however, volunteers organized their search party for Monday morning.

“Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville watchstander received the initial report from a group of kayakers via landline at 10:39 a.m., Saturday, stating that Gilyana went missing and was wearing black pants with no shirt or life jacket,” Yahoo News reported.

Approximately 341 square miles had been searched by rescue crews over a total of 90 hours.

A Christian, Gilyana was also the fitness and wellness director of the Jewish Community Alliance in a city in Florida.

Gilyana previously resided in the Kurdistan Region’s Ankawa district of Erbil province, where he worked with the US military for over half a decade in Iraq before coming to the United States. 

During the search, the weather on the scene was 4–6-foot seas with 10-knot winds and a rip current advisory is currently in place.

This story was updated at 11:25 p.m. (Erbil Time) on new information surrounding Gilyana's death.