A 35-year-old man jumped off the Coney Island Pier into the water around 5:30 p.m. and quickly began struggling once he was in, according to police. NYPD divers responded by helicopter and lowered a basket from the chopper to pull him to safety.
The rescue was reported by CBS News New York, and unfolded as the man reportedly started to struggle once he hit the water, prompting the dramatic airborne response. CBS News New York reported that the man was taken to a local hospital and was expected to be OK.
A Pier With a History of Close Calls
Friday's rescue is not the first time someone has nearly drowned after jumping from Coney Island's waterfront. In June 2014, a 29-year-old man nearly drowned after an early-morning jump off Coney Island's Steeplechase Pier, according to the New York Daily News. In that case, NYPD and Fire Department divers searched for nearly an hour before a Fire Department diver pulled the unconscious man from the water 14 blocks away; he was rushed to Coney Island Hospital and listed in grave condition at the time.
More recently, in January 2022, one person was transported to a hospital following a near-drowning incident at Coney Island Beach, per News 12 Brooklyn. Those earlier incidents are separate events from Friday's rescue, but they underscore how often Coney Island's waters have required emergency intervention over the years.
Tragedy Along the Same Stretch of Coastline
The area has also seen fatal incidents. In July 2024, teenage sisters Zainab Mohammed, 17, and Aisha Mohammed, 18, drowned off Coney Island after entering the ocean when the beach was closed, according to The New York Times. The sisters were pulled from the water and rushed to the hospital in critical condition but did not survive, NBC News reported, noting they were the second pair of teenagers to drown off New York City beaches that summer. That incident followed the drowning of two boys, ages 16 and 17, at Jacob Riis Park in Queens just two weeks earlier, the Times noted, and NBC News reported it came amid a broader spate of drownings linked to rip currents that had raised concerns about the phenomenon.
Staffing Gaps Have Fueled Safety Concerns
Those 2024 drownings prompted renewed scrutiny of lifeguard coverage at city beaches. Following a string of recent drownings at local beaches while lifeguards were not on duty, some called for expanded hours, according to ABC7 New York. At the time, officials said about 800 lifeguards were working with 100 more expected to start, though the city needed roughly 1,600 to adequately staff its pools and beaches, per the same report.
The station also reported there was no plan to extend lifeguard hours past 6 p.m., with the NYPD and FDNY instead using drones to pick up guarding duties and cover the water until 7 or 8 p.m. It remains unclear whether lifeguards were on duty or whether any staffing gaps played a role in Thursday's rescue near the pier. The New York State Department of Health maintains a database of drowning incidents statewide and analyzes contributing factors in an effort to prevent similar events, according to the agency.
