HAMPTON BEACH, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Officials are urging beachgoers to be cautious this holiday weekend, after dozens of people got caught up in strong rip currents at Hampton Beach.
On Thursday, a few miles north of the Massachusetts/New Hampshire state line, Hampton Beach lifeguards rescued 83 people from the ocean rip currents, which forcefully flow away from the beach.
All of those people were rescued safely, and without injury.
According to the Portland Press Herald, lifeguards at Maine’s Scarborough Beach State Park also rescued eight children from rip currents that same day.
Chief of the New Hampshire State Beach Patrol Pat Murphy said if someone does get caught in a rip current, the worst thing they can do is panic.
"Relax, swim parallel to shore, and if you can't swim parallel, float," said Murphy. "Make yourself be able to be seen, because someone will come and get you. You've just got to not fight it, and not panic."
As SeacoastOnline reports, Chief Murphy also said swimmers should heed the warnings of the lifeguards on shore, who are looking out for specific areas where rip currents are known to pop up.
“Listen to the lifeguards,” said Murphy. “If they whistle at you, they’re not doing it to make your day bad. They’re doing it to save you, to keep you safe.”
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(Photo: JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP/Getty Images)