Officials: Teen presumed drowned off Long Beach

One man was presumed drowned off the coast of Long Beach and another missing last night off Jones Beach after a day when strong rip currents swept at least a dozen swimmers into the surf, authorities said.

The two missing swimmers were among thousands who flocked to Long Island beaches for relief from temperatures topping 90 degrees. Beaches across Long Island are not set to open until Saturday for the start of the Memorial Day weekend.

There were no lifeguards at Jones Beach, Robert Moses state beaches or Long Beach Wednesday, officials said.

The 19-year-old man officials presumed drowned was a student at CUNY's Baruch College in Manhattan, friends said. He was last seen some 100 feet from the beach in the water beyond a jetty.

Rescue crews answered a call for swimmers in distress between Edwards and Riverside boulevards around 1:50 p.m., said Scott Kemins, the city's fire department chief.

Emergency responders pulled from the turbid water two of the young man's friends, who told authorities that the young man had "mentioned to them that he didn't know how to swim," said City Manager Charles Theofan.

His name was not released Wednesday.

"Last time he was seen, unfortunately, he was floating face down in the water," Kemins said. "An experienced swimmer would easily get in trouble in that kind of water."

The missing teen's friends said the group had initially entered the water about knee-deep, but the strong current off the jetty soon sucked them out to sea, Theofan said.

Another swimmer was missing last night in an incident at Jones Beach. Officials said three men believed to be in their early 20s went into the surf near the central mall and parking field 4. Some time later, two of the men got back on the beach. The third, 23, never made it out of the water, officials said. His name was not released.

At 9:30 p.m., a Nassau County police helicopter circled above the waters shining a bright searchlight into the surf. The Coast Guard, which had boats in the water and rescue helicopters in the air, was overseeing the search.

Asked whether it's normal to see drownings before Memorial Day, George Gorman of the state office of parks, recreation and parks said, "No, especially when the water is in the upper 50s."

Wednesday in Long Beach, fire rescue and police pulled about 10 people from the water, according to Kemins, while surfers and others helped several more.

With Bill Mason and Nomaan Merchant