MERCED AND TURLOCK RESIDENTS DIE IN APPARENT BAY AREA DROWNING September 26, 2014 A father and son from the San Joaquin Valley died after being pulled from the water at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach this week, authorities said Friday. Jose Garcia Jr., 24, of Merced (Merced County) was pronounced dead Thursday at St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco. His father, 47-year-old Jose Garcia Sr. of Turlock (Stanislaus County), died Wednesday at UCSF Medical Center. The two were swimming in the water across the Great Highway from the Beach Chalet restaurant on Wednesday afternoon when they were overcome by waves that were pounding the coast, the San Francisco Fire Department said. One of the victims wore underwear, the other basketball shorts, according to witnesses. Arriving rescuers found one of the men, who had already been pulled from the water, unconscious. The other man was still in the ocean, unresponsive in the waves, firefighters said. The apparent drownings came at a perilous time for those seeking to enjoy the waters off Ocean Beach, which is known for its sneaker waves and powerful rip currents. A storm system that hit the Bay Area this week made the conditions even more dangerous, whipping up 15-foot waves that slammed the shore from the San Francisco Zoo to the Cliff House. Rip currents occur when the surf builds up sandbars, forming underwater channels through which water gushes. The Coast Guard, which has conducted numerous rescues in high surf conditions this week, urged surfers, boaters and beachgoers to exercise “extreme caution” in the water. Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle sfgate/bayarea/article/Father-and-son-dead-after-Ocean-Beach-rescue-5782939.php
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 04:07:04 +0000
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