Two people have died in the waters of the Outer Banks this week: the first death was Monday, Labor Day, and the second happened Tuesday.
On September 4, 28-year-old Ferozan Walizai from Washington, D.C, died near the village of Avon at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The next day, September 5, a 68-year-old man from Hillsboro, Ohio died in a water-related incident, according to officials with Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It happened off southern Hatteras Island.
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The rough waters have put many swimmers in distress, according to Buxton resident Jeff Dawson. In fact, he says he's pulled several people out of the water, including on Labor Day.
“I got a board, I got flippers, I gotta’ go do it," Dawson said. “I was able to communicate with a lot of them, ‘If you have the strength to come in, please come in.’"
Dawson recalled a heartbreaking moment during his rescue efforts on Labor Day: As he was rescuing a girl in distress, he realized the woman the girl was with didn't make it.
“I remember swimming up to her and I was like, ‘Sweetheart, I’m so sorry, I can save you, you’re gonna be fine. But that other person...she’s gone. I’m so sorry," Dawson recalled.
He said the girl was heroically hanging onto the woman she was with, who ultimately didn't survive.
“It was an image that’s haunting," Dawson said.
Dawson was able to help the girl out of the water. He recalls telling her, “Stay on my boogie board, grip it for dear life, don’t let go no matter what you do.”
Superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, David Hallac, said just because the water is calm doesn't mean swimmers aren't at risk.
“We had some rough surf conditions, we had some larger waves. But those waves are really not rare this time of year. We also know a lot of times, we’ve had individuals in distress in the ocean who lost their lives when the ocean was calm or the rip current risk was moderate to low," said Hallac.
Hallac added that on Tuesday, “From the Buxton area down to the tip of Hatteras Island where the last fatality occurred, there was not a high risk of rip currents. It was a moderate risk. So it’s very, very important to stress that it is never safe, really, to swim in the ocean at Cape Hatteras National Seashore unless you are an experienced swimmer - and when I say experienced, I mean experienced swimming in the ocean.”
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In both incidents, Dare County Sheriff’s Office, Dare County Emergency Medical Services, Hatteras Island Rescue Squad, and North Carolina Highway Patrol responded.
Crews performed CPR but the efforts were unsuccessful.
Jack Scarborough, chief of Hatteras Island Rescue Squad, said they have both volunteers and paid employees and that it’s been a tough week for them losing two people.
One man who was in the area on Monday said there was quite a crowd and “lots of energy in the water.” He also told News 3, “The main issue I saw was people turning their back to the ocean. That’s a rule you should never break: the golden rule.”
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Superintendent Hallac recommends everyone check the conditions before swimming. He says a great way to do that is a website Outer Banks has created called lovethebeachrespecttheocean.com.
