Teen swimmer still missing after getting swept into water at Coney Island
CONEY ISLAND, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Search efforts have resumed for the teen swimmer who went missing in the water off of Coney Island in Brooklyn on Thursday.
The NYPD Harbor Unit arrived on the scene Friday morning to resume scanning the waters off Coney Island for the missing 15-year-old who is presumed drowned.
On Thursday, on-duty lifeguards observed two boys in distress in the water in a no swimming area of the beach near West 22nd Street just before 12:45 p.m.
Eyewitnesses at the beach said the brothers were playing near some rocks by the shoreline when they were swept under.
Rescuers pulled a 14-year-old from the water who is expected to be OK.
His brother, the 15-year-old, has not been found.
Rip currents are believed to have played a factor in the tragedy, a preliminary police report says.
Officials with the Parks Department said that section of Coney Island was under a red flag at the time.
Eyewitness News was told the fire department had divers in the water and there were helicopters above all looking for the swimmer.
"I screamed at them, 'get the life saver!' I was running and I jumped in the water," said an eyewitness on the scene. "I swam around the rocks trying to grab them but when I saw him his head was already bobbing."
City Councilman Ari Kagan said the boy was visiting the beach with his family and lives in a shelter in the Bronx.
Officials remind swimmers that to stay safe in the water, only swim when lifeguards are present in open sections of the beach. Closed sections of the beach are indicated by red flags which mean do not swim.
During inclement weather, listen to the direction of the lifeguards and clear the water.
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