The Long Beach Fire Department said calls came in for a water rescue around 7 p.m. at Monroe Boulevard and Shore Road after the six, who live in Queens and Nassau counties, got caught in the surf.
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Lifeguards had gone off duty for the day at 6 p.m., but at at least one lifeguard remained on the beach and teamed up with good Samaritans, including surfers, and responding firefighters to help rescue the swimmers.
The 18-year-old went into cardiac arrest and died at the hospital, while the other five were treated and released.
"We were just chilling on the beach, and this woman came over and started screaming, 'Hey does anyone know how to swim, people are drowning,'" good Samaritan Jason Schorr said. "So we stepped out over here and we swam out to help them, and I managed to grab onto one of the guys who was drowning. We pulled him onto the rocks, where lifeguards or paramedics were able to help us out."
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