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Father dies while saving son from rip currents in Currituck County

Posted at 7:07 PM, Sep 03, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-03 19:07:43-04

Currituck County, NC —  A 35-year-old father died while saving his son from rip currents at a Corolla beach.

Officials say the incident happened Saturday just before 6 p.m. near milepost 3.

The father and his family were in town for vacation. While playing at the beach, the father noticed his son was taken underwater by rip currents.

That’s when the father jumped in and saved the boy, but a few moments later, rip currents took the father underwater.

Bystanders who saw what happened jumped into action, pulling the father out of the water.

Officials were on scene and immediately started CPR.

He was later flown by Nightingale to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he died Sunday evening.

Yellow flags were flying at the time of the incident after being downgraded from red flags.

The son suffered no injuries and will be okay.