SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. – One person drowned, and six others were rescued from a rip current along a New Jersey shore beach Monday night.
The Seaside Heights Fire Department received the call just before 7 p.m. Firefighters said the victims were swimming at a beach where lifeguards were not on duty.
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Drone video showed the tense moments when fire officials arrived on scene and quickly deployed a jet ski and a rescue swimmer to reach the victims. Swimmers could be seen hanging on to rescuers as the jet ski raced back to shore.
The rescue team took several trips into the ocean to reach all the swimmers.
Fire officials said the drowning victim was found submerged in the water and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, issued a Moderate Rip Current Risk for the New Jersey coast Monday morning, which remains in effect. According to the NWS, wave heights in the surf zone were between 2 and 3 feet at the time of the rescue.
WHAT IS A RIP CURRENT AND HOW TO SURVIVE ONE
This video explains rip currents and how they form along the shoreline.
Under NWS guidelines, a Moderate Rip Current Risk means that life-threatening rip currents are possible in the surf zone.
Tim Farrell, the assistant chief of the Seaside Heights Fire Department, said the department’s ocean rescue team rescued 12 people stuck in rip currents at guarded beaches over the weekend.
