12 Teens Pulled From Jersey Shore Rip Current In Mass Rescue

CHADWICK BEACH, NJ - 12 teens who were swept up in a rip current at a Jersey Shore beach were rescued by a swath of lifeguards over the weekend, officials said.

The rescue took place on Saturday in the Chadwick Beach section of Toms River at around 4:15 p.m., and saw several rescue lines, rescue boards and rescue torps deployed in the retrieval, the Chadwick Beach & Yacht Club said in a statement.

Greg Andrus, who helms Portraits of the Jersey Shore, told News12 New Jersey the teens - all between the ages of 12 and 15 - were caught on a sandbar and later a rip current as waters roughed up at the shore. It was only when one of the teens waved her hands at the beach patrols that the lifeguards noticed, he said.

“Every second that passed it just kept getting deeper and deeper until I realized I wasn't on the sandbar anymore,” one of the teens, Christina Catalano, told Portraits of the Jersey Shore. “And then I got really nervous. Me and my three friends were getting sucked out … one of the lifeguards stood up and saw us and then he blew his whistle and a bunch of the lifeguards swarmed to the water with their ropes and boards and everything.”

Catalano and her friends were put on a board and pulled to shore, Portraits of the Jersey Shore said, adding that she could’ve easily seen the situation take a more sinister direction.

“I sat on the sand in front of the lifeguard stand, and they put towels around me and my other two friends because we were kind of cold and were shaken up,” Catalano said. “I was just kind of in shock. I really thought I might drown.”

The lifeguards responded “extremely timely, efficiently, and effectively” with help from neighboring Silver Beach guards, Chadwick Beach officials said. “When you see Captain EC out there running drills, this is exactly the reason why! Thank you EC and your team.”

The rescue served as just one in a series of drowning or near-drowning incidents across the Garden State this weekend.

On Friday, a 19-year-old was hospitalized in critical condition after he was pulled from the water at an unguarded beach in Bradley Beach, authorities said. Bradley Beach Police Chief Len Guida told Patch the teen was underwater for 20 minutes before being rescued by swimmers. Read more: Teen In Critical Condition After Swimming At Unguarded NJ Beach

A 16-year-old died Saturday evening in a North Jersey ravine that has notoriously been off-limits to swimmers for years, authorities said.