PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — Three Alabama men died from likely drowning after experiencing difficulties while swimming at a Florida Panhandle beach, authorities reported on Saturday morning.
The young men had arrived in the Panama City Beach area on Friday evening, according to a Facebook post from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office received an emergency call about the swimmers in distress shortly after 8 p.m., officials stated. The U.S. Coast Guard and other emergency responders initiated rescue efforts. The men, who were not immediately identified, were found separately and later pronounced dead at local hospitals.
Earlier this week, single red flags had been posted at the beach, signaling high-hazard surf and rip current conditions.
On Thursday, a Pennsylvania couple vacationing in Florida with their six children drowned after being caught in a rip current while swimming. The man and woman were swept into the current on Hutchinson Island, along Florida’s southeast coast, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office reported on Facebook.