Two women tragically died after being swept out to sea in Coney Island on Friday night.
Two sisters, ages 17 and 18, were reported lost in the water near Stillwell Avenue at around 8:10 p.m. on July 5. At the time, lifeguards were not on duty and the beach had mostly cleared due to bad weather.
NYPD Harbor Officers from Special Operations and FDNY personnel responded and began the prolonged search and rescue, lining the shore with spotlights looking for the teen swimmers.
At around 9:30 p.m., Harbor Officers and NYPD 60th Precinct officers were spotted pulling the two teens out of the water. Paramedics gave the victims CPR on the sand before transporting them to a waiting ambulance. They were rushed to NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health in very critical condition, where they ultimately died of their injuries.
Onlookers watched in horror as the dramatic rescue operation unfolded. A witness was heard screaming out to police, “Thank you for not giving up on them.”
Fire Department personnel Engine Company 245, Ladder Company 161, 168, Rescue Company 5 and Rescue Company 2 searched through choppy waters but were driven back by tough currents and high waves, according to Battalion 43 radio traffic.
Police initially reported that another man, 24, was unaccounted for following the incident. That report was later deemed unfounded.
The victims were identified on Sunday by family members, who spoke exclusively with CBS News, as 17-year-old Zainab and 18-year-old Aisha Mohammed. Their older sister, Mariam Mohammed, told the outlet that family members were trying to rescue the girls, who were standing in shallow water before wind picked up and rough waters began to pull them out.
The Mohammed girls’ death comes just 12 days after two teens went missing at Jacob Riis Park in Far Rockaway. Their bodies were recovered last Monday, July 1.
Earlier Friday, two teenage boys reportedly had to be pulled out of the waters of Coney Island Beach, not far from where the Mohammed sisters drowned later that evening. Police said the boys, 14 and 16, went into the water just after 6 p.m. Saturday, when lifeguards at all city beaches leave their posts for the days, and swimmers are advised to swim at their own risk.
Additional reporting by Meaghan McGoldrick O’Neil
A version of this story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper’s sister site amNewYork Metro
