Off-Duty Atlantic City Lifeguards Respond To Drowning, Issue Warning To Public
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) -- Off-duty lifeguards suddenly found themselves back on duty in Atlantic City. Now, the beach patrol has a stern warning that they want people to take seriously.
An emergency call came in as a possible drowning in progress.
A day at the beach took a disastrous turn for one family at Rhode Island Avenue in Atlantic City on Monday. Officials say at 6:08 p.m., just minutes after lifeguards packed up for the evening, they received a call for the drowning in progress.
"We found out that a young Pakistani woman had gone out along the rock pile," explained Chief Steve Downey of the AC Beach Patrol. Rescuers had arrived within a few minutes and soon found the woman about three blocks away, floating face up.
Crews were able to pull her to the beach and immediately began CPR. She was then taken to the hospital in critical condition. Her sister suffered a broken leg while running on a rock pile.
The victim's father explained to the beach patrol lieutenant on scene that his family had just arrived in the United States from Pakistan recently and were not very experienced with the ocean.
The young woman sucked out to sea was fully clothed. "This particular family was actually warned by the lifeguards to definitely stay out of the water," said Downey. "They chose to go into the water after we left."
Beach patrol officials say that they know the days are long in the summer and in the evening the ocean still looks inviting, but unless you're an experienced and proficient ocean swimmer, going in after the lifeguards leave is not safe.
Just this past weekend, the AC Beach Patrol rescued 20 people after 6:00 p.m. Only Kentucky Avenue has extended protected hours so the beach patrol plans to add extra ATV and wave runner patrols from there, but they need the public's help.
"If the lifeguards aren't on duty, it's not smart to swim ever," said Downey.
