Lifeguards searched the waterline along Coney Island shore to find 10-year-old Akira Johnson.
Posted on 07/27/2008 10:39:47 AM PDT by Alice in Wonderland
Swimmers Warned About Dangerous Undertows, Rip Currents
Four people have died and three vanished within two days at beaches in New York City and on Long Island, authorities said. At least three more have been rescued, they said.
Officers were patrolling the waters off Coney Island Sunday in an attempt to search for a 10-year-old girl who went missing Saturday, CBS station WCBS-TV reported. Akira Johnson and her cousin Tyriek, 10, were playing in the ocean off West 23rd Street when they started to struggle in the water.
People on shore yelled for lifeguards to help.
"She's screaming, "There's kids drowning.' Then they took the little boy out and after that the little girls hand that was the last thing and she was gone," witness Wanda Gonzalez said.
"The last time her little arm went up and that's what I saw and she just disappeared she was gone," said witness Mark Vega.
In Long Beach Saturday evening, a swimmer or surfer died after he was spotted struggling about 150 yards from shore, said Police Lt. Bruce Meyer. Lifeguards were off-duty but rushed to the beach and reached the unconscious 29-year-old man within minutes. Rescuers and hospital staffers were unable to revive him, Meyer said.
A man in his 30s or 40s had to be pulled from the water off Coney Island. No information was immediately available on his condition.
A 42-year-old man died Saturday afternoon after swimming at a beach near the ocean in East Quogue in Suffolk County, said Southampton Town police.
On Friday, when meteorologists recorded a "moderate to strong" risk of rip currents, several swimmers were sucked out to sea, authorities said.
The Coast Guard called off its search Saturday for one of them, a 23-year-old man swept away off Jacob Riis Beach in Queens as a friend tried to rescue him. The beach is in an area known for strong undertows and rip tides, the Coast Guard said.
Authorities looked for the missing man for 23 hours with no success, the Coast Guard said. Firefighters rescued his friend, who was in stable condition Saturday.
At Long Beach, one man drowned and a teenager disappeared Friday while playing football in about 3 to 5 feet of water after lifeguard hours. Another swimmer, a man in his 20s, drowned Friday afternoon at Sandy Bar Beach on Long Island's East End, authorities said.
The spate of swimmers being swept away seemed unprecedented, police said. Long Beach Police Lt. Bruce Meyer said he "cannot recall there ever being back-to-back situations like this."
With stronger and more frequent rip currents possible over the weekend, "only experienced surf swimmers should enter the waters," said National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Connolly.
The rough seas were due to a strong storm system that brought 8-foot waves to the area earlier this week, Connolly said. The weather service monitors offshore conditions for swimmers but does not track trends over time.
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Of course, if the state makes rip currents "illegal", the local authorities may try to register them to vote and get drivers licenses. But, that is a small price to pay for enhanced safety.
We lose a few people every year from the NYC beaches, usually off the Rockaways (Riis Park and points east). Millions of folks frequent these beaches, many of whom come from overseas, and are unfamiliar with local hazards.
Lifeguards searched the waterline along Coney Island shore to find 10-year-old Akira Johnson.
But rip tides can kill ya just as dead.
The beaches don't get closed and the swimmers, including too many parents, ignore the warnings of life guards and posted signs.
Don't ask me for the solution. A goodly proportion of the American populace have algae for brains.....and don't want to be herded like minnows into safer areas.
Sorry for the victims and their families as I regretfully shake my head in stupified wonderment......
Leni
You shouldn't even attempt to swim - particularly if you are not a good swimmer. The worst thing you can do when you are in the ocean is tire yourself out. You do that and you drown. In these situations, its generally best to just float. As you float, you'll get pushed back towards shore. And if you don't get pushed back in, you'll certainly increase your chances of getting rescued.
Good advice. Was going to post the same thing if someone else hadn’t.
I got caught in one once in Long Beach, CA. (Or was it Huntington? Its been a while.) Did just that, swam crossways to the rip tide about 40 yards and got free of it. It had pulled me about 100 yards further out, swam right back into shore, no problem. Not even really tired, laid out for 10 minutes, then went right back into the water.
If you try to fight the rip tide, you will lose and you will just become too exhausted to swim back in.
I've watched more than my share of attempted rescues from my window.
The bodies will probably wash up later this week.
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Really? I thought a rip tide could pull you quite a ways out if you don’t get clar of it, too far for an average swimmer to make it back it. Then again, I am (in all modesty) a very strong swimmer - scuba, snorkle, free swim, any - so maybe my experience above should not be used as an example of what to do.
Holy cow, 8 foot waves in Brooklyn? I’m there!
[when I was a kid, I used to get pummeled by waves my size and larger when I would go on a vacation]
The beaches my children and I frequent (central coast of california) have always have rip tide problems.. but you have the combination of people who think all beaches are good for swimming and people not keeping a close eye on their kids..
Personally, the movie “Jaws” and an actual shark problem at said coastline has kept me out of anything past ankle deep for decades now.
How long before it’s blamed on global warming?
Hmm, I’m apparently not that good of a typer, though. clar = clear and back it = back in. Then again, I’m posting off of a phone...
How often do you go in the ocean? I consider myself a frequent guest of the ocean and I know from personal experience that people who are not strong swimmers will often have problems swimming even 50 yards, particularly if conditions are bad. As a swimmer, the first thing you need to do is not tire yourself out - because otherwise you are dead.
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btt
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