Search for missing L.B. swimmer ends in tragedy

Photos courtesy Bill Bennett

Long Beach lifeguards, firefighters, police and other first responders formed a human chain as they searched for 23-year-old Kashawn Carlos, who went missing at National Boulevard beach after he was caught in a rip current.

Photos courtesy Bill Bennett

Officials said that rescuers performed “full, life-saving efforts” on Carlos at the scene, including CPR. He had been submerged for about an hour, and was taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital in cardiac arrest.

Photos courtesy Bill Bennett

Rescuers braved rough ocean conditions last Saturday during the search for Kashawn Carlos, who was caught in a rip current and drowned.

Photos courtesy Bill Bennett

Carlos was in cardiac arrest when he was rushed to South Nassau Communities Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Photos courtesy Bill Bennett

Firefighters and lifeguards used personal watercraft and surfboards during the search.

Photos courtesy Bill Bennett

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Three days after a Brooklyn man drowned in rough waters while lifeguards were off duty, Long Beach’s chief of lifeguards, Paul Gillespie, closed the ocean to swimmers on Tuesday, citing even stronger rip current conditions and dangerously large waves.

Last Saturday, a massive search-and-rescue operation was triggered when two men entered the water at National Boulevard beach, 30 minutes after the city’s lifeguards ended their day. One of the men went missing after he was caught in a strong rip current, officials said.

Beaches are closed to swimmers at 6 p.m. According to Long Beach Police Commissioner Michael Tangney, police received a call at 6:30 p.m. reporting that two swimmers were in distress at National. One man was rescued by an off-duty lifeguard, but he said that his friend, 23-year-old Kashawn Carlos, was still in the water.

That led to an extensive search that included Long Beach police, lifeguards and firefighters, along with the U.S. Coast Guard and Nassau County aviation and marine units.

According to Long Beach Fire Commissioner Scott Kemins, about 75 first responders were on the scene, approximately 30 of them lifeguards. The Fire Department coordinated operations with lifeguards, police and other agencies, Kemins said, and the department’s Water Rescue Team used personal watercraft during the search while lifeguards and other first responders formed a human chain in the water.

Police said that Carlos was found at 7:38 p.m., after being submerged in the water for about an hour. According to Gillespie, he was not breathing when he was pulled from the water. First responders administered oxygen and performed CPR, but Carlos was rushed to South Nassau Communities Hospital in cardiac arrest, and was pronounced dead at 8:13 p.m. Attempts to contact his family were unsuccessful.

This was the first drowning in Long Beach since June 2010, when 12-year-old Nicole Suriel drowned on a day when lifeguards were not on duty. Suriel was among a group of New York City students who were caught in a rip current in the water off Edwards Boulevard.