NC beachgoers form human chain to save swimmers from deadly Outer Banks surf, video shows
People on an Emerald Isle beach lined up arm-in-arm, forming a long chain to try to rescue swimmers from rough surf and dangerous ocean currents Wednesday, a video shows.
The Town of Emerald Isle announced on social media Wednesday that a person had drowned at an Emerald Isle beach and that red “no swimming” flags were still in place at the beaches.
“(The) public should stay out of the ocean until further notice,” the town wrote. “Please don’t put yourself, others and our emergency responders at risk unnecessarily.”
The town had not identified the man as of Wednesday evening, but multiple reports said it was a 41-year-old.
Video from Shane Gentry shows beachgoers lined up to form a human chain to try to rescue people from dangerous ocean conditions.
Morehead City emergency responders told ABC11 “there were multiple water rescues Wednesday between Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach due to strong rip currents.”
“It was nuts. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Gentry told CBS17.
Wednesday’s death brings North Carolina’s total deaths related to rough surf and rip currents to 12 this year, according to previous reporting from The News & Observer.
A 4-year-old boy died in April after being swept away by a wave while walking on the beach with his mother.
North Carolina has had at least 55 recorded rip current deaths since 1996, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The U.S. Lifesaving Association estimates about 100 people die in rip currents each year in the United States.
On June 13, 10 people were rescued in rip current-related incidents in two hours, according to Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue. Fifteen others were rescued by North Myrtle Beach Ocean Rescue in South Carolina, according to the rescue group.
Rip currents accounted for more than 80 percent of the 84,900 rescues that lifeguards made in 2016.
For beach forecasts, go to www.weather.gov/beach/mhx.
If you get caught in a rip current, NOAA and the American Red Cross recommend you:
▪ Remain calm to conserve energy, and don’t fight against the current.
▪ Think of it as a treadmill that cannot be turned off and that you need to step to the side of.
▪ Swim out of the current in a direction following the shoreline. When out of the current, swim at an angle – away from the current – toward shore.
▪ Float or calmly tread water if you are unable to swim out of the rip current. When out of the current, swim toward shore.
▪ Wave your arms or yell for help to draw attention to yourself, if you are still unable to reach shore.
This story was originally published July 25, 2018 at 8:32 PM with the headline "NC beachgoers form human chain to save swimmers from deadly Outer Banks surf, video shows."