The swimmer was in critical condition at the hospital after being pulled from the water at Jacob Riis. News 4’s Melissa Colorado reports.
A swimmer was hospitalized Friday night in critical condition after he was pulled from the water at a Queens beach.
Emergency responders descended upon Jacob Riis Park following reports that a 19-year-old swimmer had gone missing and was feared to have drowned. Police got that call around 7:45 p.m.
Almost two hours later, screams came from the beach when a group of teens found the swimmer's body had washed up to the shore.
Police officers rushed to perform chest compressions before lifting the 19-year-old onto a dune buggy and getting him to an ambulance.
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The swimmer appeared unconscious and unresponsive.
Dominick Nixon had been out swimming Friday and was walking by the water when he said he felt a toe.
"We got close, I put my flashlight on, it was him. We just started screaming," he told News 4.
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The call to police came well after 6 p.m., which is when NYC lifeguards no longer patrol the city beaches.
Friday night's drowning scare comes one day after a 15-year-old boy from the Bronx went missing off Coney Island. Good Samaritans were able to pull out and save his brother, but the missing teen has not been recovered.
Weekend beachgoers are advised to be on alert for a high risk of strong rip currents Saturday for Coney Island and other beaches in the area, including Long Island's south shore.
