3 Birmingham men die after becoming distressed while swimming at Florida beach
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Three Alabama men have died from likely drowning after becoming distressed while swimming at a Florida Panhandle beach, authorities said Saturday morning.
The young men had traveled to the Panama City Beach area Friday evening, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
The sheriff’s office received an emergency call about the distressed swimmers shortly after 8 p.m., officials said. The U.S. Coast Guard and others began rescue efforts. The men were found separately and eventually pronounced dead at local hospitals.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office identified the victims as 25-year-old Harold Denzel Hunter, 24-year-old Jermonda Ray and 24-year-old Marius Richardson. All three men are from Birmingham.
Earlier this week, single red flags had been posted at the beach, indicating high-hazard surf and rip current conditions.
On Thursday, a Pennsylvania couple visiting Florida with their six children drowned after they were caught in a rip current while swimming. The man and woman were caught in the current on Hutchinson Island, along Florida’s southeast coast, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
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