Two people have died and several others were rescued from the treacherous waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the incident citing the deadly rip currents at the beach in the Florida Panhandle.
The fatalities transpired in a three-day span and involved people hailing from Texas and Tennessee, according to an official press release from the sheriff’s office. The first incident occurred on Thursday, June 22, near Blue Mountain Beach.
Witnesses alerted a lifeguard to the discovery of an unresponsive male who had been pulled from the water nearly half a mile westward. Responding to the distress call, the lifeguard began life-saving measures. Additional beach safety units and deputies from the Sheriff’s Office arrived to lend their assistance. Despite the concerted efforts to revive him, the 65-year-old man from Coppell, Texas succumbed to the perilous circumstances.
The second fatality occurred on Saturday, June 24, when two people sprang into action to rescue a family member struggling in the water. The South Walton Fire District reported that a teenager had encountered difficulties while swimming, prompting members of his family to enter the water in a valiant rescue attempt. Lifeguards and deputies joined the rescue operation and discovered two adult men who required immediate resuscitation. The teenage male, although stable, necessitated further medical attention. Deputies and lifeguards collaborated to bring all victims safely ashore and promptly began life-saving procedures. All three individuals were later transported to a local hospital, where a 58-year-old man from Nashville, Tennessee was pronounced dead.
Authorities emphasized that these incidents occurred under red flag conditions, indicating high-risk swimming conditions. Surf conditions along Walton County’s beaches were deemed perilous on several occasions last week, leading officials to prohibit swimming altogether.
