Rip Current — Southern Queens, New York

2015-08-15 · Southern Queens, New York

Event narrative

A five-year-old East Flatbush resident named Ezekiel Gray drowned in the ocean waters off Jacob Riis Park Beach in Queens late Saturday afternoon, police say.

Around 5 p.m., when NYPD responders arrived to the beach, they say they 'discovered an unconscious and unresponsive 5-year-old male who was removed from the water by an on-duty lifeguard.'

By the time the FDNY arrived, Gray had gone into 'cardiac arrest,' says a spokesman.

Gray was then rushed to Brookdale Hospital in Brownsville, where he was pronounced dead.

The boy's 'distraught' aunt tells the New York Daily News that Gray had been attending a 'large family party' at the park on Saturday afternoon, and got stuck in a riptide after entering the ocean with two siblings.

Wider weather episode

East winds circulating around high pressure produced rough conditions in and around the inlets where permanent jetties occasional produce flash rip currents.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 600464. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.