Rip current warnings issued after drowning death of 77-year-old woman
By WABC News Staff
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MANHATTAN BEACH, Brooklyn (WABC) — Officials are warning beachgoers of the dangers of rip currents following the death of a 77-year-old woman on Monday evening.
The victim was spotted just before 6:15 p.m. at 1448 Oriental Blvd. She was taken to Coney Island Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
On Tuesday, she was identified as mother and grandmother Liudmila Marchenko.
Her grandson, Daniil Sapunkov, said she was visiting her daughter in Brooklyn from Russia. She was supposed to visit for a month but died two weeks into her trip.
“She was a wonderful loving woman, a very outdoorsy person,” Sapunkov said. “Just deeply caring loving person. Just full of life.”
Sapunkov said he still doesn’t know the circumstances of how his grandmother died.
It’s not clear if Marchenko was caught in a rip current, but both lifeguards and swimmers are keeping a close eye on the water and warning beachgoers.
The rip current risk at Manhattan Beach on Tuesday is moderate, which means life-threatening rip currents are possible in the surf zone.
The National Weather Services says if you are caught in a rip current, don’t panic. Swim parallel to the shore and then once you are out of the rip current, swim to the shore.
Swimming is prohibited at city beaches except for 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during summer months when lifeguards are on duty.
Marchenko’s death came the same night that a 31-year-old man from North Jersey drowned after getting caught in a rip current in Seaside Heights at the Jersey Shore.
The Seaside Heights Fire Department received calls for reports of multiple swimmers in distress shortly after 6:30 p.m. At least four other people were pulled from the water.
Officials said all the swimmers there were in the water without a lifeguard present.
Meteorologist Jeff Smith explains what to do if you are caught in a rip current.
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