2 teenage girls drown off Coney Island: police
A pair of teenage girls drowned off Coney Island on Friday night after they ran back into the ocean following a brief downpour, according to cops and a report.
The two girls, 17 and 18, went missing in the water around 8:10 p.m. near Stillwell Avenue in Brooklyn before they were found on the shoreline at 9:15 p.m., police said.
Both victims were taken to Coney Island Hospital where they were pronounced dead, the NYPD said.
Cops initially received information about a 24-year-old man who was also missing in the water, but that report was later unfounded.
Witnesses told ABC 7 that most people at the beach fled for shelter once it started raining.
But the teens ended up jumping back in the water even after a man tried to stop them.
It’s unclear if the man knew them, but he couldn’t swim and no one else could help the girls because of how rough the water was, ABC 7 reported.
Lifeguards at Coney Island are on duty between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., according to the city’s Department of Parks.
Swimming is not allowed outside of those hours or in closed sections of the beach.
The tragic deaths come a week after two teenage boys were swept away off Jacob Riis Park in the Rockaways, Queens and later found dead.
The two young victims were identified as 16-year-old Elyjha Chandler and his friend, 17-year-old Christian Perkins.
Last summer, a 15-year-old was found dead days after he went missing in the water off Coney Island, according to reports at the time.
His brother, 14, was rescued during the scary scene.
