NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY — Nearly a dozen people have drowned in New Jersey and New York in the past 10 days, a tragic and harrowing reminder of the potential dangers of summer made all the more dire by national shortages. of lifeguards
At least half of the 10 reported drownings since June 6 in the two states have involved victims 20 years old or younger. All but one of them occurred in New Jersey, where A day ago they claimed the lives of two other young people, one 17 and the other 20 years old.
The victims in the latest case, a 17-year-old and a 20-year-old, went missing at a popular Morris County lake known as Mine Hill Beach on Green Road Tuesday afternoon. The policemen were told that the two went into the water in the sand pits and never came back to the surface. Tangled vegetation within the lake complicated the search effort.
A body was recovered hours after the search. The other was found a short time later.
Also Tuesday, authorities recovered the body of a 59-year-old woman whose husband had reported her missing the night before. She told police that she went into the water at Ocean County’s Island Beach State Park and did not resurface.
His identity has also not been revealed at this time. The same day he disappeared, but hours before, police say a man believed to be in his 20s drowned in Belmar, where a group of distraught swimmers were reported in the Eighth Avenue Beach pier area.
Last week we also saw a major tragedy on the water. On June 8, Two brothers drowned in a Bayonne school pool during a community swimming event. Three lifeguards were on duty at the time, but authorities say 19-year-old Chu Ming Zheng and 16-year-old Jack Jiang were in a separate pool in the same building, not the one the lifeguards were guarding.
At about the same time that day, but in Wildwood, a 45-year-old man was seen floating unconscious in the water. They took him to shore, where people tried to help, but the man, identified as Williams Pathy, was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The previous afternoon, June 7, a 53-year-old man drowned while swimming in the waters off Wildwood Crest Beach. That came a day after Manchester Township Police responded to a trio of struggling swimmers and confirmed that one had drowned, a 35-year-old man.
There have also been near drownings. Many of the distraught swimmers who had been with those who died were also struggling for themselves in the water. That was the case for Ryan Wong, who was washed from a sandbank on Friday in the afternoon and swept away by the strong currents of Jamaica Bay in Queens, New York City, along with a 13-year-old friend.
Wong survived. His friend, Daniel Persaud, did not. Persaud’s funeral was held on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the family of a Long Island toddler who was pulled unconscious from a backyard swimming pool Tuesday night is hoping the child is okay. The 2-year-old boy was last said to be in serious condition at a hospital. His relatives own the house that had the pool.
Two brothers drown in a New Jersey school swimming pool in the eyes of their sister. Rafael Pujols reports.
The events come amid a national lifeguard shortage that has just ended. forcing New York City to close some popular summer swim programs in their outdoor pools. Locals and people who live in other big seaside and pool spots across the country fear there won’t be enough eyes on beaches and pools this summer due to hard hiring.
COVID lockdowns have delayed some training courses, but those who are trained are looking for higher-paying jobs.
With water-related problems expected to increase as the summer progresses, public health and emergency officials are reminding people of basic safety strategies.
The American Red Cross provided these tips for both swimmers and those tasked with keeping an eye on those in the water.
- Provide constant supervision for children and non-swimmers;
- Learn to swim: It is not clear if all the victims in the last few days knew how to swim and to what level;
- Look for lifeguards;
- Swim with a friend who stays close;
- For inexperienced swimmers, wear a life jacket;
- Learn CPR
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