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Dangerous Weekend at Beaches, 3 Still Missing
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 28, 2008
Modified Jul 28, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 28, 2008
Modified Jul 28, 2008
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Photograph of one person pulled from waters off Coney Island (he was saved) by carolitajohnson on Flickr
This past weekend, the Coast Guard, NYPD, FDNY and other groups looked for swimmers missing off local shores but ultimately did not find any of the three people who were apparently caught in riptides. Since Friday, four other people drowned off NYC and Long Island beaches.
On Friday, two people drowned and two others were missing off Long Island and the Rockaways, while a man drowned off Long Beach on Saturday. The family of 10-year-old Akira Johnson, last seen swimming at Coney Island on Saturday, was sad, frustrated and angry. Her father told the Daily News, "There should have been more lifeguards. It's frustrating because we don't know where she's at."
Out on Long Island, the NY Times reports the Long Beach chief lifeguard thinks the drownings off his beach could have been avoided; Paul Gillepsie said, "People are not supposed to go into the water after we close. But a lot of people stay on the beach. They pay to get on the beach, they want to get the most out of their weekends. But they’re uneducated about the water. They don’t realize how dangerous the Atlantic Ocean can get.”
Tagged
atlantic ocean
coney island
drownings
long beach
missing swimmers
riptides
rockaways
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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