YORK, Maine — EDITOR'S NOTE: In the above video for 2019, NEWS CENTER Maine meteorologist Ryan Breton demonstrates how to break the grip of a rip current.
York Police say a man was rescued from the ocean current Monday morning after suffering exhaustion while diving near Nubble Light.
Police say they received multiple calls around 11 a.m. reporting a diver in distress. First responders from the York Police Department, The York Beach Fire Department, The York Village Fire Department Rescue Boat, York Beach Lifeguards and York Harbor Master all responded.
A York Parks and Recreation employee got in the water and assisted the diver to safety where he was treated and released on the scene by medical personnel.
It was reported that a possible second diver was also in distress, but it was determined that all divers were safe and accounted for.
After a spate of rip current rescues in New England in recent days and weeks, lifeguards and safety personnel are urging people to use caution while swimming or diving.
At Maine’s Scarborough Beach State Park, lifeguards rescued eight children from rip currents on Thursday, and lifeguards at New Hampshire’s Hampton Beach said they made 83 rescues that same say.
"This year we have had a lot of rip currents early in the season," head lifeguard at Scarborough Beach State Park Dave Currier said. "We've had several rescues over the month of June and into the month of July."
IF CAUGHT IN A RIP CURRENT:
- Remain calm to conserve energy and think clearly.
- Never fight against the current.
- Think of it like a treadmill that cannot be turned off, which you need to step to the side of.
- Swim out of the current in a direction following the shoreline. When out of the current, swim at an angle--away from the current--towards shore.
- If you are unable to swim out of the rip current, float or calmly tread water. When out of the current, swim towards shore.
- If you are still unable to reach shore, draw attention to yourself by waving your arm and yelling for help.