12 teens caught in rip current at Jersey Shore rescued
One of the young teens caught in the rip current began waiving her hands and the lifeguards noticed.
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Twelve young swimmers were rescued over the weekend in the Chadwick Beach section of Toms River after getting caught in a rip current in deep water.
Greg Andrus, who runs the Portraits of the Jersey Shore website, documents everyday lifeguard heroes. He told News 12 New Jersey the swimmers were all on a sandbar when it began to get rough. They were then caught in a rip current.
Andrus says one of the young teens began waiving her hands and the lifeguards noticed. The lifeguards then quickly rescued all 12 teens.
Lieutenant Sean Frew
with the Chadwick Beach Lifeguards says the rescue was "difficult" and neighboring guards had to help out.
"We had most of our guards in the water to where the neighboring beach even sent over their guards to help us cover the stands," Frew
said.
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"Luckily, thanks to our captain and our lieutenant who are always working with us, with drilling us, maybe having a guard pretend to drown so we know how to react in this scenario, made everything a lot better," said Sean O'Callaghan, a lifeguard at Chadwick Beach.
Even on calm days, especially in areas where sandbars are present, rip currents can form quickly. Swimmers are advised to always swim near lifeguards.
