4 swimmers dead, 3 missing in N.Y. ocean waters

Four swimmers drowned and three were missing Saturday in two days of treacherous ocean currents at Long Island and New York City beaches, authorities said. At least three more had been rescued.

The missing included a 10-year-old girl who had been playing in the waters off Coney Island. A 10-year-old boy who was with her was rescued, police said.

Some authorities said the spate of swimmers being swept away seemed unprecedented. In the Long Island community of Long Beach, where two people drowned and another disappeared, Police Lt. Bruce Meyer said he "cannot recall there ever being back-to-back situations like this."

The rough seas were due to a strong storm system that brought 8-foot waves to the area earlier this week, National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Connolly said.

The risk of rip currents during the weekend was "moderate," meaning stronger and more frequent instances could be expected and "only experienced surf swimmers should enter the waters," Connolly said.

On Friday, the rip current risk was "moderate to strong."

List of others dead or missing at the link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080727..._swept_away;_ylt=AvGP4vVyWOMM1XU7zbPVNUqs0NUE

How devastating...there are several places here in Charleston where swimming is not allowed due to strong undercurrents.

Deadly weekend continues at L.I. beaches; weekend toll at 6

Another person drowned and one more went missing Saturday at local beaches, authorities said -- one day after four others had been swept into the surf off South Shore beaches.

In Long Beach, rescuers Saturday night tried but couldn't save a 29-year-old Wantagh man they'd pulled from the water. The man died on the way to the hospital, the city manager said.

Off Coney Island in Brooklyn, a 10-year-old girl disappeared into the water. The NYPD and Coast Guard have not been able to find her, a police spokesman said Saturday night.

Near Lindell Boulevard in Long Beach, four lifeguards struggled for eight minutes to save the victim, fighting through the strong current in which they'd themselves gotten caught. Though the man had a pulse when he was taken from the water, he went into cardiac arrest in the ambulance to Long Beach Medical Center, said Long Beach City Manager Charles Theofan.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-lidrown0727,0,7925145.story

Eek. DD (almost the same age as the girl that drowned) and I were just talking about how it was exactly one year ago on Saturday that we were at Coney Island enjoying the ocean!

How sad.

We were planning on going to the beach this past weekend but in light of all the accidents decided to stay in the city. Very sad.

I heard about how bad the rip currents where this morning on the Today Show. we just came back from Ocean City Md this weekend. The ocean undertow was really strong there. Last Monday, the tropical storm was 200 miles off the coast and everyone was getting tossed around. Someone broke their neck that same day from being caught in a bad wave. My son is always the first in and I try to quiz him each time what happens if he is caught in a rip current. Really scary....