The family of Juan Carlos Escotet Alviarez has issued a statement following his death over the weekend. The heir to a Venezuelan banking fortune was killed during a fishing tournament off the coast of Miami on Saturday.

“During a fishing tournament, Juan Carlos Escotet Alviarez’s fiancée fell into the water and he jumped in to save her,” the family says in a statement obtained by Champion Daily.  “While she was able to return to the boat safely, Juan Carlos was hit by the propeller and did not survive the injury.”

“His family asks for privacy and respect from the press during this very difficult time as they grieve this tremendous loss. Thank you,” the statement concluded.

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Escotet Alviarez is the son of Juan Carlos Escotet Rodriguez, the founder of of the Caracas-based banking group Banesco. Per Forbes, the 62-year-old banking executive has a net worth of $3.5 billion.

Escotet Alviarez is listed on the company’s website as a director of Banesco, which has not commented on the incident.

The afternoon of the accident,  Andrea Montero, 30, fell overboard from their 60-foot boat while fishing during a tournament, the report states. In an attempt to rescue her, Escotet Alviarez, 31, “voluntarily jumped out of the vessel off the starboard stern” and was then “struck with the vessel’s propellers and died from his injuries.”

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FWC spokesperson Jason Rafter previously told The Miami Herald that Montero hit her head but was not seriously injured.

“Rough as it was, she couldn’t say whether it was when she went over or coming back in. She doesn’t remember when it happened,” Rafter said, clarifying that the timing of her injury was not immediately clear.

Escotet Alviarez and Montero were catching sailfish as part of an event hosted by the Ocean Reef Club, according to the Herald.