3 dead after becoming distressed while swimming at Florida beach – NBC 6 South Florida

Three Alabama men died of probable drowning after becoming distressed while swimming at a Florida Panhandle beach, authorities said Saturday morning.

The young men had traveled to the Panama City Beach area Friday evening, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

The sheriff’s office received an emergency call about the swimmers in distress shortly after 8 p.m., officials said. The U.S. Coast Guard and others began rescue operations. The men, who were not immediately identified, were found separately and were eventually pronounced dead at local hospitals.

Earlier this week, single red flags were posted on the beach, indicating high-risk surf and rip current conditions.

On Thursday, a Pennsylvania couple visiting Florida with their six children drowned after being caught in a rip current while swimming. The man and woman were caught in the current on Hutchinson Island along Florida’s southeast coast, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.