On Sunday, a 45-year-old woman drowned off Amagansett. The East Hampton Press reports there were "several distressed swimmers at an unprotected beach in Amagansett, between Atlantic Avenue and Napeague Lane, and upon arrival found a civilian assisting several swimmers out of the 'heavy surf and dangerous riptides.'" Leslie Wanek Sgaglione was unconscious and, after administering CPR and other lifesaving measures, she was pronounced dead at Southampton Hospital. Another beachgoer said he saw Sgaglione in the water while she was apparently trying to save distressed swimmers, but then she struggled against a riptide. Her children were reportedly also on the beach. more ›

The tragic death of 12-year-old Nicole Suriel, who drowned during a class trip to Long Beach, is putting the practices that Columbia Secondary School and the Department of Education enforce during school trips under scrutiny. Suriel's parents say they did not sign a permission slip for the trip and Juan Suriel recounted hearing about his daughter's death: "The principal called, 'We have to go to the beach. I think Nicole is dead.' I said, 'You're joking. Only two or three hours ago I spoke to her.' It just doesn't make sense." more ›

Suffolk County police say that a Brooklyn man drowned off East Moriches, Long Island and another is missing. According to The Southampton Press, "Deng Zheng, 26, and his friend, Xiangyong Chen, 31, also of Brooklyn, were swimming approximately 50 yards from shore in an unsupervised area of Cupsogue Beach when a large wave apparently swamped them... The men started to swim to shore, but were not seen after the wave broke." Their two friends got the attention of lifeguards, who were on a workout run. The lifeguards found Zheng and performed CPR, but he was pronouced dead at a hospital. Chen was not found. The National Weather Service had warned about rip tide currents and for swimmers to avoid unsupervised beaches. more ›

Despite increasing warnings from Parks officials and a drowning death toll that continues to rise, swimmers are still finding their way into the Rockaways after lifeguards are off-duty, often into the night. The Times goes out to the Queens beaches to discover that "police officers patrol the area until 9 p.m. or so...but daring swimmers know to wait until the police leave to dive in, stepping past signs in English and Spanish warning against nighttime swimming." And one local resident tells the News, "Kids think it's just a big bathtub." City Councilman James Sanders held a community "brainstorming" session this week to discuss how to put an end to a deadly summer that has already claimed six victims, three times as many as all of last year. A Parks deputy described just how dangerous the waters can be by saying, "In certain weather conditions, particularly with a lot of south wind, the waves can create an opening in the bar. When that happens, it's like turning over a 5-gallon water cooler bottle and ripping the lid open - all the water comes rushing out." Here's a tutorial on what to do if you're caught in a rip current. more ›

A 19-year-old man from The Bronx drowned in Far Rockaway yesterday where he and his girlfriend had been enjoying a day at the beach. 19-year-old Daniel O'Neil swam outside the designated area near the East Rockaway Inlet near Beach 25th Street around 3 p.m. Lifeguards eventually pulled O'Neil out and and FDNY EMTs took him to St. John's Episcopal Hospital, where he was pronounced dead an hour later. O'Neil had just graduated from Mount St. Michael High School and volunteered in the rectory of Sacred Heart Church in Mount Vernon. He was set to attend John Jay College in the fall and hoped to one day be a lawyer. His aunt told the News, "He was a young kid who wanted to prove to himself that he was a young man. He was full of life, full of youth." Lifeguards say that there has been a strong riptide over the last two weekends, forcing an unusually high number of swimmers to be pulled out of the water. The National Weather Service has tips here on what to do if you are caught in rip currents. more ›

Yesterday morning, some friends were wading in the waters off Rockaway Peninsula at Beach 9th Street when one was swept up by a riptide. The Post reports, "A 35-year-old man was believed to have drowned yesterday after frantically trying to rescue a female companion who got pulled under." While an unconscious Daria Miranda, 24, surfaced in another area, Ramon Figera was missing and is assumed to have drowned. The Coast Guard told WCBS 2, "Whether they got into an area where they found themselves unable to touch bottom, or not able to swim, we're not certain." The pair, plus another friend, were in the water off the jetty around 8:15 a.m., nearly two hours before lifeguards report to duty; the Post noticed a sign next to the jetty that said, "Keep Off Jetty. No Diving." And a Far Rockaway resident told the Daily News, "The current on the bottom is very dangerous. All you have to do is go out 30 feet, and the current will grab you." more ›

Yesterday, authorities, including the NYPD and Coast Guard, spent a second day searching for 16-year-old Tiara Coaxum, who went missing while swimming off Rockaway Beach on Friday. While they are resuming the search today, the rescue operation will turn into a recovery mission today. It's suspected Coaxum was caught in a riptide (the Daily News has tips on escaping a riptide), but some residents wondered to NY1 if there should be more than just two lifeguards monitoring beach activity. more ›