3 Swimmers Hospitalized After Being Pulled From Jersey Shore Waters

BELMAR, NJ - Eight distressed swimmers were pulled from the ocean off the coast of a Belmar Sunday evening, with at least three of those swimmers requiring hospitalization, authorities said.

Shortly after 6 p.m., Belmar police received a report of a group swimmers in distress off the 6th Avenue beach. Multiple Belmar lifeguards and water rescue members had already entered the water and were able to rescue five swimmers, police said.

"The tide came, that's when they got pulled in. They were in the back yelling 'Help, help!' That's when everybody ran off the beach, calling for lifeguards," a bystander told 6abc.

An unresponsive swimmer was rescued from the water at the 5th Avenue beach and transported to Jersey Shore University Hospital.

Two other swimmers were also transported to the hospital, though it wasn’t immediately clear which beach the swimmers had come from.

The conditions of the swimmers were not immediately clear Monday morning.

Lifeguards are stationed on Belmar beaches from 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekends during the beach season, which ends Monday.

Belmar's rescue wasn't the only save attempt over the weekend: a 24-year-old man drowned at Fifth Street Beach in Beach Haven on Sunday, despite a group of people forming a human chain in the water to reach the victim, 6abc reported.

In Seaside Park, there were "multiple" swimmers in distress after lifeguards were no longer on duty, according to an Instagram reel posted by the borough.

A 24-year-old swimmer remains missing near Seaside Heights beach; he was one of six swimmers found in distress near the Stockton Avenue beach around 6:30 p.m., per NJ.com.

Several rip tide warnings were in effect around the shore on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service Mount Holly station. The rip current risk remains high Monday.

It will be a hot Labor Day today with high temperatures in the 90s inland. If you plan on heading down the shore today to help cool off, be aware there is a HIGH RISK for rip currents today! pic.twitter.com/0zb9iFoM5l
— NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) September 4, 2023