15-Year-Old Rescued Off Amagansett Beach; Lifeguards Warn of Rough Surf

A 15-year-old was rescued by his father from the rough ocean surf in Amagansett on Tuesday afternoon.

John Ryan Jr., the chief of the East Hampton Lifeguards and a member of the East Hampton Volunteer Ocean Rescue Squad, said the boy's father pulled him out of the water in front of before help arrived around 4:30 p.m.

The child was reportedly fine and not transported to the hospital.

The town beaches were flying yellow flags on Tuesday, signaling swimmers to be cautious of the rough conditions. Ryan said there are strong rip currents, partly due to a tropical depression off Florida that is moving north-northeast. He said there is a beaten down berm along the ocean that has created a steep sandbar.

"There's definitely a concern that people pay attention not going in the water where there are no lifeguards," he said.

Windward Shores is an unprotected beach, and like other hotels along the ocean, do not have lifeguards.

The call initially went over to , , and the ocean rescue squad as an 8 year old swimmer in distress.

A police officer arriving on scene discovered the swimmer was 15 and had already been pulled out of the water. He was reportedly fine and police canceled the Amagansett ambulance at about 4:40 p.m.

Ryan said the teen had been hanging on his father as he was rescued, which can lead to the rescuer drowning, as recently happened in Wading River. "The more people in the water, the more people there are to save," Ryan said. "Luckily enough the individual was able to get out."

This was the third call for the volunteer ocean rescue squad this summer. The second came on Sunday morning when a report of a swimmer in distress came in from in front of the Sea Crest on the Ocean in Amagansett, though emergency responders were never able to verify the report. Ryan said there had been contradictions as to what was seen in the water.

An expansive search was conducted with help from town lifeguards, lifeguards from , East Hampton police and marine patrol units, and the ocean rescue squad. Jet skies were launched from Montauk and Amagansett and a search was done by quadrants three miles east and west for a possible victim for more than hour.

Conditions were not as bad as they were on Tuesday, Ryan said, but there was still a swell.

Another call recently came in after a child fell off a kayak by the Hands Creek boat dock and drifted away from the kayak. Two young boys were eventually able to get him out of the water.