A New York City fireman perished Friday near the Jersey Shore while attempting to save his adolescent daughter from a rip current.
The fireman was identified as 39-year-old Mark Batista, a fifteen-year veteran who works for a Brooklyn station. He was once an EMT.
According to the Area Network of Shore Water Emergency Responders (ANSWER), several units rushed to Sylvania Ave Beach in Avon-by-the-Sea at 8:38 a.m. Friday for reports of two swimmers in danger.
A female adolescent was rescued and sent to Jersey Shore University Medical Center for assessment. Divers, jet skis, boats, and a drone were used to look for the second missing swimmer.
Just before 10 a.m., a Coast Guard helicopter spotted the missing swimmer and plucked him from the ocean. EMS provided treatment and transported the swimmer to JSUMC, but he did not survive.
They are saddened to learn about the death of Firefighter Mark Batista, who died Friday while swimming at the Jersey Shore, said FDNY representative Amanda Farinacci Gonzalez in a statement to media outlets. Firefighter Batista was a dedicated public servant who served in the FDNY for 15 years as both an EMT and a firefighter. They join his family in grieving his untimely death.
Later Friday, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office issued a caution on Facebook to beachgoers not to enter the sea if there are no lifeguards on duty.