PANAMA CITY BEACH, Florida − Three more tourists died after swimming in the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend under dangerous surf conditions.
The deaths occurred Saturday off of Panama City Beach, according to a release, which said police responded to “three separate fatal water incidents behind three different resorts.” The city lists them as “fatal water incidents” because officials have said it is not known whether the victims drowned or had another medical emergency in the water.
The toll is now seven along the coast of Bay County within nine days – the highest number of beach fatalities for any single locale in the U.S. for 2023, according to a database kept by the National Weather Service. Less than a half hour to the northwest in Walton County, one person died on Thursday in similar conditions at Blue Mountain Beach and another died Saturday at Miramar Beach, the second this year on that beach, according to the weather service.
Rip current deaths trending up
Rip current deaths, which include fatalities from high surf and sneaker waves, have trended up nationwide in recent years, hitting a high of 113 in 2021, according to the weather service.
Last year, 69 deaths were reported. Already this year, 60 surf zone-related deaths have occurred, including 27 in Florida. Thirteen people have died in Puerto Rico.
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