By EFE
Jun 23, 2024, 9:14 PM EDT
Miami, June 23 (EFE).- The strong waves that have hit the coasts of Florida (USA) claimed the lives of at least six tourists at the start of summer, when the forecast warns that the dangerous conditions on the beach They will probably persist, forcing several beaches to close.
The bather deaths occurred on the beaches of Panama City Beach, located in the Panhandle in the Gulf of Mexico, and on Hutchinson Island, on the Treasure Coast in southeastern Florida.
Alerts for return currents, popularly known as undertow, were issued for the weekend on almost all Florida beaches, forcing authorities to close several this Sunday.
Panama City authorities reported that three young tourists from Alabama were swept away by a return current and lost their lives Friday night.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Department reported on social media that they received an emergency call at 8 p.m. Friday about three swimmers in trouble.
The three young men were rescued from the sea separately and taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead.
This Sunday, Bay authorities said another swimmer had been rescued from the waters and given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Several beaches were closed this Sunday to swimmers due to the risk of rip currents.
The first death occurred on Thursday afternoon when a teenage tourist was swept away by strong waves on a Panama City beach and, although he was rescued alive, he later died at a medical center.
On the other side of the state, a Pennsylvania couple walking with their children on Hutchinson Island was swept into the Atlantic by a rip current.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office reported that the couple was found unconscious and died at the hospital. The two sons managed to swim to shore.
The dangerous conditions on the beaches are expected to last until Monday, so authorities have urged caution.
More than 30 swimmers died after encountering rip currents across the Sunshine State in 2023 and more than half in the Panhandle.
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