OCEAN CITY — The ocean claimed two more lives during three separate rescue incidents this week on a particularly tragic Wednesday, continuing a disturbing trend that began back in early June.
Early on Wednesday, five swimmers were rescued in heavy surf conditions in two separate incidents about 15 minutes apart and within blocks of each other, including a Pennsylvania man who succumbed to an apparent cardiac arrest about an hour later at Atlantic General Hospital.
The Ocean City Beach Patrol and Ocean City Emergency Services responded to the first swimmer in distress call, which came in at around 12:34 p.m. in the area of 17th Street. About 15 minutes later at 12:50 p.m., dispatchers received a second call requesting assistance with a water rescue. The first rescue occurred after three swimmers entered the ocean in the area of 20th Street and got caught in a rip current, which resulted in them drifting toward 17th Street. Ocean City Beach Patrol lifeguards observed the swimmers in distress, immediately entered the water and were able to reach all three of the swimmers.
The Ocean City Police and Fire Departments also responded to assist, including the OCFD’s rescue swimmers. Two of the victims required medical attention and were transported to AGH by Ocean City EMS. One victim, a 19-year-old male, was transported with injuries not believed to be life-threatening. However, a second victim, a 52-year old male from Huntingdon, Pa., was pronounced deceased at AGH around 1:30 p.m., the victim of an apparent cardiac arrest.
As the first incident was stabilized, the Ocean City Beach Patrol responded to a separate water rescue in the area of 20th Street, which was also the result of a rip current. In that incident, the two victims were brought back to shore by lifeguards and did not require medical attention. Between the two incidents, a total of five victims were rescued including one fatality, but the tragic trend continued later on Wednesday.
After a harrowing afternoon, the beach patrol was preparing to call it a day when one off-duty lifeguard noticed a body boarder in distress in the area of 12th Street. The lifeguard quickly called for assistance and immediately entered the water, swimming south toward the distressed swimmer.
About 5:45 p.m., multiple off-duty beach patrol officers responded back to the beach to assist with the rescue. In addition, Ocean City Police and Ocean City Fire Department rescue swimmers responded to help. The swimmer at this point had drifted down to around 9th Street. The distressed swimmer, a 49-year-old male from Rosedale, Md., was pulled from the water and treated on the scene. The victim was then transported by Ocean City EMS to AGH, where he was later pronounced deceased.
“Today is a sad day for the entire Ocean City community,” said Emergency Services Director Joe Theobald. “Throughout the day, our SRTs were educating the public about the rough surf and dangerous rip currents. Our emergency personnel did an extraordinary job and had they not responded as quickly and professionally as they did, today could have been much worse.”
With Wednesday’s tragic incidents, the summer season could not have been much worse in terms of water-related fatalities. The two fatalities on Wednesday bring the number of direct and indirect water-related fatalities to six, and seven if a drowning on Assateague in August is added to the list. In some cases, the drowning deaths occurred when the beach patrol was on duty, while others occurred after regular beach patrol hours.
In some cases, the fatalities occurred on the beach and in the water. In others, the deaths occurred after the fact, including one in June where the victim suffered neck and back injuries and later succumbed to complications from his injuries at the hospital, and Wednesday’s first fatality where the victim perished from an apparent cardiac arrest after being rescued. The common theme has been the ocean in general, and in most cases dangerous rip currents, proving again the power of the sea and its relentless ability to indiscriminately snatch lives.
Around 4:30 p.m. on June 2, three non-swimmers entered the ocean off 137th Street and quickly became distressed in a rip current. Beach Patrol SRTs entered the water and quickly rescued two of the swimmers in trouble, but the third man, a 17-year-old from Montgomery County could not be located for about 30 minutes and was later pronounced dead. The incident marked the first drowning in the ocean while the Beach Patrol was on duty since 2007.
Less than two weeks later, an unidentified 17-year-old male got caught in a rip current just off the beach at 92nd Street and quickly became submerged. An OCBP SRT was the first to enter the water in search of the missing swimmer and was soon joined by multiple public safety entities. The water rescue attempt included roughly 30 rescue swimmers from the OCBP, the Ocean City Fire Department, the Ocean City Police Department, the Coast Guard and the DNR.
A Maryland State Police helicopter joined the search from the air, as did a private single-engine aircraft participating in the ongoing Ocean City Air Show. About 45 minutes later, the submerged swimmer was found and carried to the beach where he was treated on the scene by Ocean City EMS. The victim was transported to AGH where he was pronounced deceased.
Later in June, an unidentified victim suffered neck and back injuries in a heavy shore break and was found face down in the surf. The Beach Patrol stabilized the unconscious victim with a neck brace and back board and began CPR until EMTs arrived. The victim was transported to PRMC by ambulance but later succumbed to complications related to his injuries.
Shortly after 6 p.m. on Aug. 12, Ocean City Communications received a call for a swimmer in distress in the ocean near the Inlet. First-responders were immediately dispatched to the area including Fire Department rescue swimmers. In addition, several off-duty beach patrol officers were first on the scene, arriving just minutes after the call.
According to witnesses, the victim appeared to be stuck in a rip current and was having difficulty getting back to shore. At one point, the victim was overtaken by a wave, submerged and did not resurface. The Beach Patrol and Fire Department rescue swimmers searched the area and located the 18-year-old Manassas, Va. man about 13 minutes after the initial call. The victim was treated on the beach by EMS personnel and was transported to AGH where he was pronounced deceased.
Around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 9, two Rockville, Md. men were on the beach in the OSV zone at the Assateague Island National Seashore when one of them decide to take a late night swim in the dark ocean. A short time later, the victim’s friend on the beach heard the victim in distress and crying out for help in the darkness of the remote area of the barrier island.
The man on the beach went into the water and spent about 45 minutes looking for his friend before calling 911. Two park rangers responded to the 911 call and searched the area where the victim entered the water before finding him a short time later face down in the surf. The park rangers began CPR on the victim and called for assistance from allied agencies in the area before taking him by truck to an area accessible by ambulance. The victim was transported to AGH where he was pronounced deceased a short time later.
After Labor Day, lifeguards are strategically placed along the 10-miles of Ocean City beaches with multiple mobile patrols on duty. The Beach Patrol will cease putting guards in stands after Sunday, the traditional last day of Sunfest, although mobile crews will continue to patrol the beaches.
Due to rough surf conditions and strong rip currents, swimming restrictions were in place during the incidents on Wednesday and remained in place yesterday. Beachgoers are advised to check in with a lifeguard on duty every time they come to the beach and are reminded of the familiar mantra “keep your feet in the sand until a lifeguard is in the stand.”
With dwindling resources and fewer guards in the stand as the season winds down, Theobald this week urged swimmers to make the effort to walk to an area where a guard is in the stand until the dangerous conditions subside.
“We urge our beach patrons to take the time to walk to and swim in front of a lifeguard,” he said. “Our deepest sympathies are with the two families who lost loved ones today [Wednesday]. We will certainly have them in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”