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2 people drown in section of Rockaway Beach closed to swimming, parks department says
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Jun 17, 2022
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John Nacion/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Jun 17, 2022
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Two people drowned in Rockaway Beach Friday evening, in sections of the beach that are currently off limits to swimming, according to the city parks department.
FDNY pulled an unidentified male at Beach 100th Street out of the water with assistance from Parks Enforcement Patrol officers, according to the parks department. FDNY said the victim was pulled just before 6 p.m. Meanwhile, several people pulled a female out of the water at Beach 108th Street, according to the parks department. She was taken out of the water around 6:18 p.m., according to FDNY. Both were transported to an area hospital where they were pronounced dead, the parks department said. The names and ages of the victims were not yet released.
According to the FDNY, three other people were pulled out of the water at Rockaway between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. Their conditions are unknown.
“We are heartbroken by these unfortunate deaths,” parks department spokeswoman Crystal Howard said. “This is a painful reminder that New Yorkers should never enter the water in closed sections of our shoreline, where lifeguards are not present. We implore New Yorkers to only swim in open sections and when lifeguards are on duty.”
Their deaths come a week after two teens drowned after a sandbar collapsed in Jamaica Bay.
This story was updated to reflect the number of people pulled from the water at Rockaway Beach.
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