|
|
 |
 |
by BRIAN BOYD
STAFF WRITER, Staff writers William Murphy and Rocco Parascandola contributed to this story.
At least two teenage girls swimming off Rockaway Beach after lifeguards went off duty had to be pulled to safety by city rescue workers late yesterday.
The Police and Fire departments gave different accounts of the rescue, which occurred about 6:45 p.m. after the girls were seen in the water off Beach 116th Street near Belle Harbor.
Police said officers rescued three girls with an assist from off-duty lifeguards, and that it was pretty much over by the time firefighters arrived.
The Fire Department said two girls, 16 and 18, and a police officer apparently were caught in an undertow and were pulled to safety by firefighters from Engine Company 268 and Ladder Company 137.
The girls, whose names were not released, were in stable condition last night at Peninsula Hospital Center in Far Rockaway, officials said. The officer also was taken to the hospital in stable condition, the Fire Department said.
The Fire Department said there were five or six people in the water, including rescuers, when they arrived.
Four firefighters swam out with small red buoys and another followed with a yellow surf board to assist people back to shore. Emergency Medical Service workers took over on shore and two firefighters stayed in the water to make sure they were not missing anyone.
Firefighter Terence O'Donnell said one police officer "was telling me he couldn't swim anymore. He needed an assist. He was out of gas."
Police, meanwhile, said an officer from the nearby 100th Precinct, a Marine veteran trained in water rescue, was the first city worker into the water.
His name was not made public.
The officer took a flotation ring that had been dropped by a police helicopter, placed it over one girl and pushed her toward shore, police said.
The officer was met by an off-duty lifeguard who helped pull her in, according to police. The Parks Department identified the lifeguard as Thaddeus Schneider, who has worked at the beach for the city for the past 10 summers.
The second young woman got to shore on her own and the third girl was helped in by the officer and a second off-duty lifeguard and possibly a passerby who stopped to help, according to police.
A police spokeswoman, Sgt. Mary Christine Doherty, said two girls were originally in the water, but a third, a friend of theirs, went in to help and also floundered.
The beaches are staffed with lifeguards from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to Parks Department spokeswoman Megan Sheekey. "This underscores the importance of entering the water only when a lifeguard is on duty," Sheekey said.
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
