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A teenager has died after he was pulled from the waters off of Far Rockaway, Queens, Tuesday afternoon.

  The swimmer, who was identified as 14-year-old Akeem Craig of Queens was reported missing in the ocean off Beach 19th Street just before 12:45 p.m. 

NYPD divers went into the water and pulled the boy to the beach.

 

Police say the boy was rushed to St. John's Episcopal Hospital, about a half mile from where he was found and was pronounced dead.

 

Witnesses say it took officials about 40 minutes to find Craig, when he went missing near 19th street in Far Rockaway.

Witnessess add the group was 4 girls and another boy. 

One man said the boys were swimming in a restricted area and he warned them to move closer to the lifeguards.

"This water can be very dangerous, because there are dropoff points," said one witness.

 

A second teen was initially with the boy, but was rescued and is expected to be okay.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&id=8698385

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Last Updated:          7:06 AM, June 14, 2012

Posted:          1:52 AM, June 13, 2012

 

A Queens teen drowned in the treacherous waters off Far Rockaway yesterday after going to the beach with pals and jumping in the ocean to celebrate the last day of classes.

 

One buddy tried desperately to save 14 year-old Akeem Craig after he was carried out by a wave β€” and is haunted by being unable to do so.

β€œI went out to get him and he was pulling me under the water,” the friend, 15-year-old Akeem Brown, told The Post. β€œHe was holding my neck and he said, β€˜Don’t let me go, don’t let me go.’ I said, β€˜I’m not going to let you go.’

β€œHe was crying, then he started vomiting. He let go and I came up to get air.” Seconds later, Craig was out of Brown’s sight.

 
β€˜SO MUCH POTENTIAL’: Tragic Akeem Craig was a member of the August Martin HS football team and took care of his siblings, said relatives.
Damian F. Leslie
ANGUISH: Akeem Brown searches in vain for his friend in the Rockaway surf yesterday.
 

β€œEvery time I close my eyes, I can hear him calling me,” said a heartbroken Brown.

Craig, 14, a sophomore at August Martin HS in Jamaica, had gone into the water at about noon β€” despite being unable to swim, a friend said.

His mom, Raquel Williams, was devastated.

β€œHe had so much potential, he could have done anything he wanted,” she said.

β€œI don’t want to accept this. I can’t describe the feeling. My heart is broken,” said a sobbing Williams, 38.

The boys, along with four others from school, were in an area out of lifeguards’ view. Locals had warned them that the surf was unsafe due to rain and heavy winds.

β€œThey were having a good time,” fisherman Reginald Whitley, 53, said of the boys. β€œThen the cops came and the ambulance came and the helicopters came.

β€œThey failed to listen to the advice,” added Whitley, who has fished in the area for 26 years.

 

β€œAnd this water is very, very dangerous.”

After Brown, the victim’s courageous pal, headed back to shore, he was pulled to safety by a good Samaritan.

It took 40 minutes for rescuers, including at least four divers, to reach Craig and bring him ashore near Beach 19th Street.

He was pronounced dead at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital.

β€œThe family is trying to grasp what has happened today,” Craig’s uncle, Fitz Ralph, 42, said outside their South Jamaica home, where dozens of family members gathered.

 

 

β€œHis mother is inconsolable beyond words. This is all so sudden and unbelievable,” Ralph said.

Williams, a home health aide, said her son was β€œa very loving child. He looked after his two sisters.”

Craig was involved at his school, playing safety on the football team and volunteering for a group that promotes AIDS awareness.

The Department of Education refused to say if the kids had left school early or had been dismissed.

Additional reporting by Larry Celona, Frank Rosario & Yoav Gonen,

ikimulisa.livingston@nypost.com

 

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/l...iLCVuN#ixzz1xgPyRUsf

Sunil

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