Three Swimmers Rescued in Ocean City Waters

By MADDY VITALE The Ocean City Beach Patrol made three rescues, all after hours, Thursday evening. At 6:30 p.m. a father and son, whose names were not released, were swimming off Fifth Street beach near the jetty when they got caught in rip currents, officials said. Lifeguards from the Beach Patrol’s Rapid Response Team and fire and police personnel all responded to Fifth Street beach. “The officers walked out on the rocks,” OCBP Director Allan Karas said in an interview with OCNJDaily.com Thursday night. “The father was unresponsive in the water, and it took the guards a couple of times to get the dad on the flotation device.” The boy was out of the water and on the rocks. He and his father were both taken to Shore Medical Center in Somers Point for treatment. Ocean City lifeguards from the afterhours Rapid Response Team save swimmers. Also Thursday evening, a lifeguard on a jet ski from the afterhours team made a rescue of a girl at 10th Street. Her identity was not released. “Our jet ski goes down and patrols the area. The guard saw a girl about to go under a pipe at 10th street,” Karas said. “The water is so weird around the pipes. The guard was on his way back and did a slow patrol. Then he saw her and rescued her. He brought her back in on a sled. It shows the value of the jet skis.” Karas noted that people should only swim on guarded beaches. All three saves were after hours on unprotected beaches. He commended the job of all of the emergency workers. “It seems like a couple of things worked well. Ocean City does it right,” Karas said. “The lifesaving that goes on in Ocean City is excellent.” The jetty at Fifth Street where emergency workers make the rescues of the father and son.