2 swimmers drown, dozens rescued this weekend at Jersey Shore

Rescue crews at the Jersey Shore are worried a repeat situation will happen after dozens of swimmers were rescued from the ocean this past weekend. Two did not survive.

News 12 Staff

Sep 21, 2021, 12:28 PM

Updated 1,160 days ago

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Rescue crews at the Jersey Shore are worried a repeat situation will happen after dozens of swimmers were rescued from the ocean this past weekend. Two did not survive.
Two swimmers lost their lives after getting caught in currents in Brick and Toms River.  
It was a deadly combination of a top five summer weekend postseason with little to no lifeguards and offshore tropical systems.
Crews raced up and down the barrier island in Ocean County pulling people out of the water.
“I can't even tell you how many people, more than I can count,” says Nicholas Farrell, with Seaside Heights Fire Department Ocean Rescue.
Farrell and the ocean rescue team spent the weekend racing to towns such as Point Pleasant Beach to Seaside Park. 
“It's the busiest we've been all year,” says Tim Farrell. “Last weekend, we ran 20 calls on the way to those calls coming back from calls we were getting waved down by residents and beachgoers.”
With similar conditions expected this weekend, the ocean rescue team says to avoid more tragedies.
“Stay out, stay alive, if there's no lifeguards on duty, don't go in the water, that's it,” says Pat Dellane.
Lifeguards will be on duty in Seaside Heights through the end of the month on weekends. Other towns have none or just a skeleton crew. 
The fire department wants to remind residents that even experienced swimmers found themselves in trouble this past weekend, saying it could happen to anyone in just seconds.