A New York firefighter drowned Friday while trying to save his daughter who was caught in a raging current.
New York Fire Department (FDNY) firefighter Mark Batista, 39, said his teenage daughter was caught in a rip current while he was with his family at Sylvania Beach, near Avon-by-the-Sea. reported. new york post. Batista reportedly jumped into the water to save her daughter, but both were lost.
Rescuers rescued the girl, but Batista was found underwater about an hour and a half later and pronounced dead at the Jersey Shore University Medical Center, The New York Post reported.
We are heartbroken to learn of the death of firefighter Mark Batista, who died swimming on the Jersey Shore on Friday. FF Batista was a dedicated civil servant who served 15 years as both a paramedic and firefighter at FDNY. We are in deep sorrow with his family. pic.twitter.com/hGQhYSjgYi
—FDNY (@FDNY) June 11, 2023
Lifeguards were not on duty at the beach at the time of the accident, according to NBC New York report. According to NBC New York, Jersey Shore residents said such accidents usually occur when people enter the water without lifeguards present. (RELATED: 15-year-old student reportedly drowns in high school pool)
Rip currents are “fast-flowing, powerful, narrow channels prevalent along the shores of the East, Gulf, West, and Great Lakes of the United States,” and “sometimes faster than an Olympic swimmer.” according to to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
According to NOAA, swimmers should float rather than fight if caught in a rip current, and should call for help rather than trying to save a person caught in the current.
