17-year-old still missing after going into water in the Rockaways
The search has resumed for a teen swimmer who went missing in the Rockaways on Tuesday afternoon.
A 17-year-old boy went into the water with friends near Beach 73rd Street and Shore Front Parkway around 3:30 p.m. and has not been seen since, police say.
The search was suspended for the night on Tuesday, but crews went back out on Wednesday morning and spent hours looking for the teen.
Large search party for missing teen
Witnesses said the boy's friends tried to pull him out of the water when he ran into trouble, but he slipped back in.
"They were screaming and yelling and, like, losing their mind," witness Nemiah dos Santos said. "I saw the kid, I literally saw his body, to his arm, to his hand."
"It was just literally tears, cellphone in hand, crying, trying to tell whoever brought them to the beach that they're not gonna be able to bring whoever was at the beach with them home," another witness said.
Video shows people forming a human chain in the water earlier Tuesday evening, trying to safely help in the search.
While the temperatures have been warm, the FDNY said divers experienced rough surf during their search. The department also said drones were used to monitor the situation and that marine units assisted along the shoreline and offshore.
The NYPD says its SCUBA unit and air units are also helping with the search.
Swimming dangers
Local residents told CBS News New York the waters at Rockaway Beach are notoriously treacherous.
"It's horrible. I don't go in anymore because many times I walked in and it just, I just sunk. The rip here is, it's just too strong," Ana Jagiello said.
"Even I'm a swimmer and we've gone to swim classes so many years of our life, and I think even, like, it's a risk for anyone," Olivia Sykes added.
Lifeguards were not on duty Tuesday because beaches have not yet opened for the season, which begins Saturday.
"It's tragic. We hear about it every year. What can we do?" beachgoer Alexandra Koval said.
"You go from being two inches in the water to being 25 feet in the water, and if you don't know that, you could get hurt," dos Santos said.
"It was going to be a nice day and like, that's understandable," beachgoer Jasmine Holmes-Colon said, "but you still have to be careful when you're outside, especially in Rockaway. Things happen like rip currents."
Officials are once again reminding New Yorkers about the dangers of swimming in unguarded waters.
