A couple from Long Island died from drowning on Tuesday night during what family members believe was a swimming lesson.
Umarie Chamble, 25, and Keylon Rmasay, 28, were found unconscious and unresponsive in the water, near the shoreline by Beach 9 Street and Seagirt Boulevard in Far Rockaway, according to the NYPD. Responding officers removed them from the water and administered CPR before EMS arrived and took them to St. John's Hospital, where they were both pronounced deceased.
The medical examiner will determine the cause of death, but relatives believe that the couple, who lived in Inwood, NY, were in the middle of a swimming lesson. Lifeguards are on duty between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., and swimming is prohibited at other times.
Chamble’s cousin Sharifa Martin told the Post, "She was trying to teach Keylon how to swim. She was a really fun, loving, nice girl."
Ramsay's family said that the couple were celebrating a friend's birthday and hope that their deaths can serve as a lesson. In an interview with WCBS 2, his cousin Derek Parsons said, “In the Rockaways the rip tides are very high. It’s very dangerous. This is a kid who doesn’t like to go into the water. He doesn’t like to swim, but he was celebrating a friend’s birthday. They went out, had a good time, and things happen.”
