Off-duty lifeguards save 3 swimmers in Long Beach waters

Three swimmers were rescued from Long Beach waters on Friday by off-duty lifeguards and one was rushed to the hospital, during a week in which one girl drowned and police temporarily enforced a strict no-swimming policy.

The incident happened on Friday around 1:30 p.m., when a group of young people from Queens went swimming near Franklin Boulevard, City Manager Charles Theofan said. A 21-year-old man and two women in the group became distressed in the water amid high-tide and began shouting for help, officials said.

"They were in water way above their heads," said City Manager Charles Theofan. "They were fortunate enough that an alert person saw them."

Some beachgoers rushed into the water to help, as did nearby lifeguards, who were off-duty preparing for the official start of the season this Saturday. Chief of Long Beach Lifeguards Paul Gillespie said that he was nearby with another lifeguard, posting signs and digging holes near the entrance ramps, to be used for informational poles, when he learned about the emergency and rushed to the scene.

"We threw our shovels down, went in and got the kid," said Gillespie, who explained that the tide was high when the incident occurred. "He was about a half-jetty out, but the water is deep out there. There was a surfer out there and we used his board. The waves all of a sudden started to come in, but we got the kid up."

Members of the fire department responded as well. Gillespie and others said that the man had water in his lungs, but was responsive when he was brought to shore and taken to Long Beach Medical Center. He's expected to recover, officials said. The two women did not require medical assistance, officials said.

This latest incident comes just three days after 12-year-old Harlem resident Nicole Suriel drowned during a class trip, after she went swimming off Edwards Boulevard. On May 29, the body of Emanuel Tiburcio, 19, of Brooklyn, was found three days after he disappeared in the water, also off Edwards.