by Brendan Brosh and Dorian Bloc
Three teens clinging to rocks 70 feet out into the ocean off Brooklyn were rescued by firefighters Saturday evening.
Two females and a male, described as being between 16 and 20, were on the rocks near W. 16th St. and Surf Ave. in Coney Island about 5 p.m. when the tide threw them into the water.
"The tide must have came in because the water was very rough," said a fire official. "They were holding on to the last rock, the biggest rock."
Three firefighters from Ladder 161 went into the water, secured by ropes held by three anchor firefighters on shore.
"The water was ice cold. One girl had water up to her neck. She was the most panicked," said Firefighter Robert Scheer, one of the rescuers. "They were probably out 50 feet too far."
"I don't understand why they were out there," said Lt. Anthony Smaldone, another member of Ladder 161, which regularly rescues people from the ocean. "If you don't know how to swim, don't go that far out into the water."
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