3 Tourists from Alabama Perish Following Encounter with Rip Current while Swimming at Night in Panama City Beach
A group of young men, all in their twenties, were having a swim along Panama City Beach on a Friday evening. Shortly after 8 PM, the local sheriff's office received a distress call about three swimmers in trouble, near the Watercress Condos.
One of the swimmers was rescued from the Gulf of Mexico immediate after the alert, but medical attention was required while the search continued for the other two swimmers. The sheriff's office, emergency services, coast guard, and wildlife conservation commission all joined forces to locate the missing swimmers. The general public, who were also in the area, offered assistance in the search efforts.
Sadly, all three swimmers were eventually found and brought to the hospitals where they were later declared dead. The sheriff, Tommy Ford, expressed his deep sorrow in a Facebook statement, saying, "Three young men who entered the water and became distressed have passed away."
The following day, Ford referred to the tragic deaths as "such a tragedy" and conveyed his condolences to the relatives of the victims. He acknowledged the tremendous effort put in by the rescue swimmers from the Sheriff's Office, Emergency Services, and Panama City Beach for more than two hours in the dark and potentially dangerous waters.
The deceased individuals were identified as Harold Denzel Hunter, 25, and Jemonda Ray and Marius Richardson, both 24, who had come to Panama City Beach with a group of friends from Birmingham, Alabama that same evening.
Sadly, two other individuals lost their lives due to rip currents on Florida beaches last week. In another incident, a Pennsylvania couple, Brian Warter, 51, and Erica Wishard, 48, who were part of an eight-member family vacationing in Florida, drowned as a result of a rip current while swimming off South Florida's Hutchinson Island.
Rip currents are fast and narrow water flows that move away from the shoreline at an angle, usually less than 80 feet wide. The strong currents can move up to 8 feet per second, which is faster than an Olympic swimmer. Over 100 lives are claimed by rip currents annually in the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric and Administration.
To escape a rip current, swimmers should move parallel to the shore instead of swimming towards it, and avoid panicking, conserving energy and trying not to tire out in the process of fighting against the current's force. Keep your head above water and try to keep breathing.
This report contains contributions from CNN’s Mallika Kallingal.
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Despite being from Birmingham, Alabama, Harold Denzel Hunter, Jemonda Ray, and Marius Richardson unfortunately joined the list of rip current victims in Florida. After the tragic incident at Panama City Beach, the US community expressed their sympathies and offered assistance in the search and rescue efforts.
