The beach season didn't end too soon for public safety officials who say they saw an increase in the number of tourist deaths along Alabama's coast this year.
The Baldwin County coroner's office says five people drowned on the beaches this summer, and three more died in falls off condominium towers.
Millions of people visited the state's primary beaches this year from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
The number who died is small in comparison, but large and unusual enough to get authorities' attention.
The total of eight who died includes four people who drowned in mid-June during a period of unusually bad rip currents around Gulf Shores, and two Louisiana tourists who fell off condominium towers in Orange Beach in a two-week period.