ATLANTIC BEACH, N.C. – A man is in critical condition following a water rescue at Atlantic Beach.
The Atlantic Beach fire chief said a man and a woman were among five people pulled from the water Sunday around 11 a.m. about two blocks east of the Doubletree hotel at an unguarded section of beach.
The 21-year-old man was suffering from cardiac arrest and taken to the Carteret General Hospital and then flown to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville. The 19-year-old woman was also taken to the hospital and was expected to be okay. Both were from Greenville.
The names of those involved have not been released.
The rescue came just a day after a 56-year-old man died drowned while trying to save two teenage girls from a rip current, also on Atlantic Beach. A 17-year-old from Goldsboro died June 10 after getting caught in a rip current in Emerald Isle.
A beach hazard statement was issued for most of the day for Carteret and Onslow counties due to the high threat of rip currents.
Experts offered the following safety tips to avoid rip currents:
- Never swim alone.
- Stay calm if you think you are in a rip current.
- Swim parallel to the shore if you are caught in a rip current.
- Always swim near a lifeguard during hours when they are on duty.