A 13-year-old girl has died after being rescued from the water at a New Jersey beach.
At about 6:36 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 15, police received “several 911 calls of a swimmer in distress” near Eighth Avenue beach in Belmar, the Belmar Police Department said in a news release shared on Facebook. When officers arrived, they found one person already out of the water, but the 13-year-old girl was still missing.
Belmar Water Rescue entered the water to try to find the missing teenager. About an hour later, she was found “unresponsive in the water” near Seventh Avenue beach.
“The victim was removed from the water, where life-saving efforts were made by Belmar lifeguards, Belmar EMS, Wall Township EMS, and Hackensack Meridian Paramedics,” the police news release said.
The girl was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, but she was pronounced dead despite extensive efforts to save her.
No lifeguards were on duty at the time of the incident, according to CBS News New York and NBC New York.
Lifeguards normally work from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekends, according to the Belmar Beach website.
The Belmar Police Department has not released the name of the teenager while the investigation continues.
The tragic event follows another death at a New Jersey beach earlier this week.
On Aug. 11, one person died after being caught in a rip current with four other swimmers at Webster Avenue Beach in Seaside Heights, CBS News New York reported, citing Chief William Rumbolo of the Seaside Heights Fire Department.
The five swimmers were rescued, but an unidentified 31-year-old man was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where he was pronounced dead.
