Rip currents kill 6 tourists in 2 days along Florida beaches; 10 drown in 24 hours on Egyptian beaches amid 'turbulent weather'

Renee Straker
The Weather Channel
Mon, 24 Jun 2024 19:36 UTC

© NBC 6

FILE

"I​t's just too dangerous to swim right now."

That was the warning Sunday from the Bay County Sheriff's Office in the Florida Panhandle after announcing double red flag warnings and closing the water to swimmers.

Over the span of two days, at least six people were killed in rip currents along Florida beaches.

Three of the deaths happened Friday evening, when a group of men from Alabama were caught in a rip current at Panama City Beach in Bay County.

The group went for a swim around 8 p.m., shortly after arriving and checking into a vacation rental, the Bay County Sheriff's Office said in an updated Facebook post Saturday evening.

"The three men were caught in a rip current shortly after entering the water," the post said.

All three went missing and a search effort was launched by the U.S. Coast Guard and others. The men were found separately and eventually pronounced dead at area hospitals, authorities said.

The sheriff's office identified the three as Birmingham, Alabama, residents Harold Denzel Hunter, 25, Jemonda Ray, 24, and Marius Richardson, 24. Earlier this week, single red flags had been posted at the beach, indicating high-hazard surf and rip current conditions.

On Thursday, a couple from​ Pennsylvania died in a rip current on Florida's East Coast while on vacation with their six children.

T​he incident happened at Hutchinson Island, a barrier island in Martin County about an hour north of West Palm Beach.

The Martin County Sheriff's Office identified the victims as Brian Warter, 51, and Erica Wishard, 48.

T​hey were swimming outside of an area farther up the beach that's protected by lifeguards and where red flags warned of the danger.

A​lso on Thursday, a 19-year-old visiting Panama City Beach from Oklahoma drowned after getting separated from a friend, WJHG.com reported. Fire Chief Ray Morgan said the young man was swimming under single red flag conditions.

P​anama City Rescue lifeguards pulled him out of the surf and started CPR but they were unable to save him.

Comment: A day or so later over in Egypt:

Ten people drown on Marsa Matrouh beaches within 24 hours

Ten people drowned and 11 others were injured on the beaches of Marsa Matrouh within 24 hours, the Cairo 24 news website reported on Friday.

The dead and injured were transferred to the Matrouh General Hospital.

A source in the Health Directorate in Marsa Matrouh said on Friday that the beaches of Matrouh saw 10 deaths to drowning during the past 24 hours, and were transferred to the mortuary in Matrouh General Hospital.

The source confirmed that 11 people nearly drowned on the beaches of Matrouh, and were admitted to the departments of Matrouh General Hospital, Intensive Care, and the Internal Medicine Department.

Survivors suffer from shortness of breath with some cases moderate, and others serious. Two were released to improve their conditions and are receiving the necessary treatment under the supervision of hospital doctors.

The Marsa Matrouh City Council decided to prevent vacationers from accessing open beaches.

The head of the city of Marsa Matrouh Reda Gaballah said that the officials of the open beaches at the city council closed the road to visitors of the beaches of al-Abyad, Umm al-Rakhm and Agiba on Friday to prevent them from going into the sea due to turbulent weather conditions.