A 50-year-old man drowned at Pompano Beach and 33 people required rescue in Hollywood over the weekend as dangerous rip currents swept across South Florida beaches. According to Pompano Beach Fire Rescue officials, the man died Sunday night after being pulled from the ocean near 10 N. Pompano Beach Blvd. Officials said the victim was unconscious when lifeguards pulled him from the water and performed CPR until Fire Rescue arrived and transported him to Broward Health North, where he was pronounced dead.
In Hollywood, Ocean Rescue made 20 rescues involving 33 people over the weekend, according to a spokesperson for Hollywood Fire Rescue and Beach Safety. Ocean Rescue personnel stayed at the beach until 7:30 p.m. Sunday to keep beachgoers safe as conditions remained treacherous. Red flag warnings lined South Florida beaches Sunday as the National Weather Service issued a rip current risk from Jacksonville to Miami.
“I see some people swimming … I don’t know how,” said Bohdan Bavaluk, who lives on Hollywood Beach. The dangerous conditions left many beachgoers on edge even as conditions began improving Monday. “It’s crazy,” one beachgoer said. “I think people need to think twice before they go in the water or not, because it looks really dangerous.”
Visitors from other states noticed the particularly rough conditions compared to their home waters. “It’s nice to know that we know the conditions of the water before we get in. It only makes me hesitant because of my daughter,” said Penelope Kassaris, who is visiting from New York. Kari Fraser, visiting from Ohio after returning from a cruise, said the South Florida waters stood out for their roughness. “It was not nearly this rough where we were, out in Aruba,” Fraser said.
Lifeguards maintained heightened vigilance throughout the weekend, actively warning swimmers about the dangerous conditions. “We’ve been getting yelled at by the lifeguards all day so they’re clearly on it,” said Matt Mandela, who is visiting from New Jersey. The red “danger rip current” flags that lined the shore served as visible warnings to beachgoers about the hazardous water conditions that persisted through Sunday evening.