More Drownings, Missing Swimmers in NYC Area

The toll of swimmers caught up in treacherous ocean currents in the metro region over the weekend grew to at least 10 yesterday as two more men drowned, a 10-year-old girl disappeared, and another beach-goer had to be pulled from the water.Altogether, four people died and three vanished within two days at beaches at New York City and on Long Island, authorities said. At least three more were rescued, they said.At Long Beach yesterday evening, a swimmer or surfer died after he was spotted struggling about 150 yards from shore, said Police Lieutenant 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, Mr. Meyer said.Also, rescue crews were searching for a 10-year-old girl who vanished in the waters off Coney Island yesterday evening. She had been swimming with a 10-year-old boy who was rescued, police 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 at East Quogue in Suffolk County, said Southampton Town police.After undertows and rip currents caused Evan Poczik of Woodbury to struggle in the water, he was brought back to shore by friends and others on the beach, police said. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said.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 yesterday for one of them, a 23-year-old man swept away off Jacob Riis Beach at 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 yesterday.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,” a National Weather Service meteorologist, Jim Connolly, said.The rough seas were due to a strong storm system that brought 8-foot waves to the area earlier this week, Mr. Connolly said. The weather service monitors offshore conditions for swimmers but does not track trends over time.“The undertows and rip tides have been particularly strong around the beaches for the past few weeks,” Coast Guard Commander Greg Hitchen said in a statement. He urged swimmers to be careful.A New York City Parks Department spokesman, Phil Abramson, said he knew of no public warning system to notify swimmers of elevated risks. He said lifeguards were always notified of the National Weather Service forecast for the day.___Associated Press Writers Jennifer Peltz and Marcus Franklin contributed to this report.

More Drownings, Missing Swimmers in NYC Area

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