Bystanders try to save struggling swimmer at North Carolina beach, officials say

Officials have identified a swimmer who died Saturday at a North Carolina beach after being pulled from the ocean, media outlets report.

People at the beach in Surf City were trying to help the swimmer “in distress” when rescuers from the Surf City Fire Department arrived at the scene near North Shore Drive just after 12:30 p.m., WWAY reports.

Rescuers then pulled the swimmer from the ocean and started a medical assessment, according to WITN.

Pender County EMS and the Surf City Fire Department administered “advanced life support,” but it was unsuccessful, officials said in a news release, according to WECT.

“The victim did not survive,” the release sent to WECT says.

The swimmer has since been identified as 44-year-old Kimberly Sabbagh of Bear Creek, officials told WWAY on Monday.

Bear Creek is in Chatham County, about 55 miles southwest of Raleigh.

Sabbagh was born in Wilmington and was a registered nurse, according to her obituary from Donaldson Funeral Home. She is survived by her husband, three children, her parents and her sister.

Officials did not say what led to the incident, but rip current risks in the area were low on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Seven “surf zone” deaths have been reported in North Carolina as of August 31, including one in nearby Topsail Beach, according to a preliminary report from the NWS. Four of the fatalities were related to rip currents and three had an “unknown cause.”

This story was originally published September 27, 2020 at 1:19 PM with the headline "Bystanders try to save struggling swimmer at North Carolina beach, officials say."