SEABROOK, N.H. (WHDH) - Dangerous conditions at Seabrook Beach turned deadly Sunday when a powerful rip current pulled swimmers out into the ocean.
One person died and another one was left in critical condition after getting sucked into the water just after noon in the area of 131 Ocean Dr., Seabrook police said.
Seven people were pulled from the ocean, including Matt Tomaszewski, a good Samaritan who rushed into the water to help the swimmers.
He was on his front porch with his wife and infant daughter when he heard people screaming.
“I got to the three individuals, the other two were in shock, screaming to try, so I put the board out so they could grab it,” he recalled. “They grabbed the board and the third individual had his head in the water, so I grabbed him, I helped prop his head up on the board, I helped him push his torso on the board as best I could and then we got toppled with a really large wave and that ended up sending that guy 30 or 35 feet away.”
Another couple struggling to stay afloat grabbed Tomaszewski’s attention.
“At that point, I came to the realization that they needed to get to shore if they were gonna make it,” he said.
Tomaszewski pulled them onto his paddleboard and pushed them toward the shore on the next wave. They made it safely and Tomaszewski rushed back to find the other man.
“I ended up paddling, with (my family) on my mind,” he said. “Those guys helped me get back, my daughter and my wife, and I’m getting emotional but I paddled with everything I could to get back.”
A Hampton Beach lifeguard pulled the final man from the water, Seabrook police said.
First responders arrived on the scene and found that out of the six people Tomaszewski helped rescue, two were unconscious, New Hampshire State Police said.
A 49-year-old man from Methuen was taken to Anna Jaques Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A 47-year-old woman from Methuen was taken to Portsmouth Regional Hospital with life-threatening injuries. Those victims have not been identified.
Beth Parker witnessed the tense rescue and has the victims on her mind.
“It’s just so sad when you think about it,” Parker said. “You go to the beach to have a good day and it’s terrible just to see something like that happen. I feel so bad for their families.”
Anyone with further information related to this incident is asked to contact Seabrook Police Officer Nicholas Haroutunian at 603-293-2037 or by email at Nicholas.Haroutunian@dos.nh.gov.
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