The search for a teenager from the Bronx continues into a second day after he was caught in a riptide in Arverne on Wednesday.
Photo via Citizen
The search for a missing teenage swimmer from the Bronx resumed at first light on Wednesday in the Rockaways, a day after the 17-year-old was pulled out to sea by the notorious riptide off Beach 73rd Street and Shorefront Parkway in Arverne just before just after 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
There were no lifeguards on duty in the Rockaways as the temperature spiked into the mid-90s, and there won’t be lifeguards staffing the beaches until Saturday, when the swim season gets underway on Memorial Day weekend.
Teenagers taking part in senior cut day tried to rescue their friend, forming human chains in the surf off Beach 73rd Street. Photo via Citizen
Dozens of teens taking part in the traditional senior cut day in the Rockaways raced into the surf to form human chains in the hopes of finding their missing friend, to no avail. They were replaced by FDNY swimmers. NYPD Aviation choppers joined in the search along with drone operators and additional marine units, who were unable to locate him before sundown. Police from the 100th Precinct in Rockaway Beach and the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway joined the operation on Wednesday, searching the 11 miles of coastline along the peninsula for any sign of the missing youngster having been washed ashore during the overnight hours.
“My heart breaks for this young person and their loved ones,” Council Member Joann Ariola said. “This tragedy is a stark reminder that people need to stay out of the water when lifeguards are not on duty. Even if it’s a beautiful, warm day, conditions in the ocean can quickly become deadly even for experienced swimmers and beach goers absolutely must practice water safety and only swim where lifeguards are present.”
Two off-duty lifeguards raced into the surf off Beach 90th Street in Rockaway Beach and pulled another teenager who got caught in a riptide on Tuesday. He sustained minor injuries and was checked out by EMS but refused further medical attention at the scene, police said.
“I would like to applaud the quick work of the two off-duty lifeguards who dove into the surf and rescued a struggling swimmer near Beach 90th yesterday,” Ariola told QNS on Wednesday. “If not for their incredible response, we might have had a second tragedy on our hands.”
Elsewhere in the borough on Tuesday, the NYPD received a 911 call just before 4:45 p.m. of a person in the water in the East River below the pier at 50th Avenue and Center Boulevard at the northern edge of Hunters Point South Park.
NYPD harbor and FDNY marine units responded to the location and removed an unconscious and unresponsive 80-year-old man from the water. EMS pronounced him dead at the scene.
FDNY and NYPD marine units pulled the lifeless body of an 80-year-old man from the East River beneath a pier near Hunters Point South Park on Wednesday. Photo via Citizen
The office of the city’s chief medical examiner will determine the cause of death. There are no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing, an NYPD spokesman said Wednesday, adding that the identity of the deceased man is pending proper family notification.