Jul 14, 2008 11:53 pm US/Eastern
Rip Currents Claim 3 Over The Weekend
WILDWOOD, N.J. (CBS 3) ―
Dangerous rip currents along the Jersey shore claimed the lives of two swimmers and swept a third out to sea over the weekend.
Officials said the strong currents are due to Tropical Storm Bertha, which is far out in the Atlantic Ocean and approaching Bermuda. The effects of the storm can be felt from Sandy Hook to Cape May.
One swimmer drowned and another is missing and presumed dead following a Saturday evening swim off Wildwood beach. Coast Guard personnel, using a vessel and a helicopter, searched for the missing swimmer in Wildwood until 7:29 a.m. Sunday, when the effort was halted, Coast Guard Petty Officer Chris McLaughlin said.
"It's beyond the chance of survivability for someone to be out there without a life vest," McLaughlin said.
Juan Moore, 28, was among three friends from Philadelphia who swam toward a buoy about 100 yards off the beach around 7 p.m.
Officials said two of the swimmers made it back to shore. While one of the men made it back safely, the second swimmer, 36-year-old Ismael Lopez, was unconscious and pronounced dead after failed resuscitation efforts. The third swimmer, Moore, is believed to have been swept out to sea.
In Atlantic City, lifeguards came to the aid of a man being carried from shore by a rip current about 3 p.m. Saturday, Beach Patrol Chief Rod Aluise said.
The man lost consciousness as he placed in the boat, where crews attempted to resuscitate him, Aluise said. The unidentified man was later pronounced dead at an area hospital.
Lifeguards in Atlantic City reportedly rescued 47 swimmers from rip currents on Saturday. In Ocean City, which on average has four rescues a weekend, 91 rescues were reported.
Authorities say many swimmers underestimate the power of rip currents and overestimate their own swimming abilities. If caught in a rip current, officials said swimmers should not waste their energy waving their arms or swimming into the current, instead, swimming parallel to the shoreline.
"The most disastrous response would be to panic, scream, holler, get tired, raise your hands because you'll go straight to the bottom," Aluise said.
Swimmers are advised to only enter the water if a lifeguard is on duty.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
