The fella that tried to save him is in hospital in critical condition I guess- got caught ‘in a current’ (Rip tide?)
I got caught in one once. If I didn’t have a small flotation device, I would have drowned. I just had to let the current carry me perpendicular to the shoreline until I found a break I could swim back. You can’t fight through riptides. no way.
Hopefully if any good comes from it, people will learn to swim parallel to the shore, because usually riptides are no more than 20-30 yards wide.