A 21-year-old man from Turkey drowned in the ocean off North Wildwood on Thursday afternoon after nearby surfers spotted him unconscious in the water and pulled him to shore, according to police. Ahmet Yimenici was later pronounced dead at an area hospital, police said, in a tragedy that unfolded just after 2 p.m. at the 2nd Avenue beach.
Surfers in the water noticed Yimenici unresponsive and brought him in, according to CBS News Philadelphia. The North Wildwood Fire Department and North Wildwood Beach Patrol responded to 2nd Avenue and the beach just after 2 p.m. and began lifesaving efforts on the sand before he was taken to an area hospital, per the same report. Yimenici was pronounced dead there, according to North Wildwood police.
He was taken to Cooper University Hospital Cape Regional in Middle Township, the sole acute-care hospital facility serving Cape May County, according to New Jersey 101.5. The outlet reports that on Thursday, North Wildwood was experiencing unseasonably warm weather, with air temperatures reaching 78 degrees and ocean water near 75 degrees — conditions that attracted swimmers and surfers.
A Dangerous Stretch of Coastline
The 2nd Avenue beach was the site of the rescue, with several surfers in the water nearby who spotted Yimenici and brought him ashore.
North Wildwood Police Chief Katherine Madden commended the civilian surfers' response, saying that their willingness to enter the water without hesitation gave Yimenici the best possible chance, according to the same account cited by CBS News Philadelphia. Bystanders performed CPR on the sand before emergency medical personnel arrived, per Patch. Police said they do not suspect foul play in Yimenici's death, and officials urged people to swim only where lifeguards are on duty.
Shoulder Season Brings Fewer Guards, Same Warm Water
At the time of the incident, lifeguards were not on duty during the week. Reports identify Yimenici as being from Turkey.
That overlap — warm water still drawing swimmers even as protective staffing winds down — has proven fatal before along this same coastline. In 2017, another international boardwalk worker, 24-year-old Egyptian citizen Ismail Ahmed Abdelmonem, was found after his body washed ashore between 24th and 25th avenues, and his death was ruled an accidental drowning, according to FOX 29 Philadelphia. This summer alone, a 20-year-old drowned in Ocean City and a 14-year-old drowned in Wildwood in June, both in New Jersey, according to CBS News Philadelphia.
The Numbers Behind the Risk
The danger of entering unguarded surf is not merely anecdotal. Research compiled by the United States Lifesaving Association estimates the risk of fatal drowning on a beach protected by USLA-affiliated lifeguards at roughly 1 in 18 million. Nationally, surf-zone fatalities remain a concern.
Officials in North Wildwood continue to urge beachgoers to swim only where lifeguards are actively on duty, particularly as the shoulder season stretches warm-weather beach days later into the calendar while formal protection winds down. For now, police say Yimenici's death does not appear to involve foul play, leaving his drowning alongside other reported drownings along this stretch of the Jersey Shore.
