Four more drownings part of deadly summer at popular Florida beaches, officials say
A missing swimmer off a Florida Panhandle beach was found dead after a short search, outlets report.
The Pensacola Fire Department responded to a call for a missing swimmer at Sanders Beach around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 3, the Pensacola News Journal reported.
“At approximately 11:12 a.m., the body of the adult male swimmer was recovered by the Pensacola Fire Department,” the city said in a statement to the outlet. “He was pronounced dead on scene by Escambia County EMS.”
The death marks the latest drowning in a particularly deadly summer for the region.
One day earlier, just miles from where the missing swimmer was found, a mother and her two children were found dead, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies were called to the Naval Air Station Pensacola base after a woman’s body washed ashore on Barrancas Beach, McClatchy News reported.
Officials then learned the woman, 33, had been with her two children, ages 6 and 7, in the water, according to the sheriff’s office.
After an overnight search, the bodies of the children were discovered, deputies said.
“This is an unimaginable tragedy,” Sheriff Chip Simmons said in a Facebook post.
The three were family members of a U.S. Marine stationed in Pensacola, McClatchy News reported.
According to National Weather Service reports, 17 people have died this summer along the Florida Panhandle.
The area, which attracts millions of visitors every year, has been the most high-risk area for drownings in the country this year. Panama City Beach, about 100 miles southeast of Pensacola, is the deadliest beach in the United States, The Hill reported.
The majority of the drownings have been attributed to rip currents, when water is “trapped between the beach and a sandbar or other underwater feature,” according to the National Weather Service, McClatchy News reported.
What is a rip current?
Rip currents are “powerful, narrow channels of fast-moving water” that happen on the coasts of the U.S. and in the Great Lakes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
About 100 people are killed by rip currents each year in the U.S., NOAA reported. Lifeguards rescue thousands of people from rip currents annually.
Experts say people can take steps to stay safe from rip currents, including:
Check the local water conditions before getting in.
Talk to a lifeguard at the beach about the conditions.
Only swim at beaches where lifeguards are present.
Don’t assume great weather means good swimming conditions.
This story was originally published August 4, 2023 at 2:38 PM with the headline "Four more drownings part of deadly summer at popular Florida beaches, officials say."
