A person died Thursday after dashing into the perilous waters of San Francisco’s Ocean Seaside absolutely clothed in an try to rescue his canine, authorities mentioned. Whereas the canine made it out of the ocean alive, the person was pronounced useless at a hospital.
The Northern California seaside is infamous for its sturdy rip currents, highly effective waves and icy water temperatures which have earned it a repute as California’s deadliest seaside.
Thursday’s incident unfolded shortly after 2 p.m. when the San Francisco Fireplace Division acquired a name {that a} man had collapsed within the water at Ocean Seaside close to Lawton Avenue after leaping in to attempt to save a canine. Two girls on the seaside noticed the person struggling and pulled him out of the ocean, fireplace officers mentioned.
Crews from the Nationwide Park Service Ocean Rescue workforce arrived inside two minutes and started performing CPR. Fireplace personnel took the person to a hospital in important situation, and he died, authorities mentioned.
The canine made it to the seaside independently with out critical harm, fireplace officers mentioned. The person’s identification has not been launched, and his official reason behind dying is pending investigation from the San Francisco medical expert’s workplace.
The San Francisco Fireplace Division thanked the 2 bystanders for his or her heroic efforts however reminded the general public that the perfect factor to do when a human or animal is in want of rescue is to name 911 and permit skilled professionals to reply as a result of harmful circumstances on the seaside.
“That is largest seaside right here in San Francisco, and we’ve had a number of deaths and a number of saves by our members and Nationwide Park Service lifeguards due to the truth that there are such sturdy rip currents,” Fireplace Division spokesperson Lt. Mariano Elias mentioned.
Between 2014 and 2020, eight folks died on the seaside, in keeping with surf zone fatality knowledge collected by the Nationwide Climate Service.
Kirby Lee, an skilled San Francisco surfer and father of two, was discovered floating unconscious within the water in November 2023 and placed on life help in a hospital the place he died 4 days later.
In July, the San Francisco Fireplace Division rescued two surfers close to Mile Rocks Lighthouse after highly effective rip currents pulled them virtually a mile out to sea.
Swimming is strongly discouraged at Ocean Seaside, as folks have been swept out to sea in as little as 3 toes of water, in keeping with the San Francisco Fireplace Division. Individuals are even cautioned to keep away from the shoreline as a consequence of the potential of “sneaker waves,” which seem seemingly out of nowhere and lengthen farther up the sand than earlier waves.
“Sneaker waves are insidious in nature. They don’t current themselves simply like excessive surf days,” the Fireplace Division mentioned in a coastal security warning. “That is what makes them so lethal.”
Regardless of the harmful circumstances, there are not any conventional lifeguards stationed alongside the 3-mile seaside. As an alternative, Ocean Rescue personnel frequently patrol Ocean Seaside to tell guests about ocean dangers and carry out rescues when wanted.
Whereas the excessive variety of deaths should prompted calls so as to add lifeguard posts, Nationwide Park Service officers have maintained that doing so would supply a false and harmful impression that Ocean Seaside is a swimming seaside.
