One woman has died after rescuers pulled her and another woman out of the water in Miami Beach Sunday afternoon.
Multiple witnesses told NBC 6 that a group of women on vacation from New York were swimming when two of them suddenly came out of the ocean and called for help.
"They were trying to get help and people tried to rush," John Gomez said. "Some tried to dive in and bring them out but all we could do was just wait."
Ocean Rescue pulled the two swimmers to shore near 54th Street and Collins and performed CPR. Both women were in cardiac arrest.
Paramedics rushed the women to Mount Sinai Hospital, where one of the victims died. She was later identified as 24-year-old Domonique K. Cook, of Brooklyn.
The second victim, 27-year-old Brandi P. Mitchell, was in critical condition Monday, police said.
Miami Beach Police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez said the cause of the drowning was still unclear, but witnesses believe a rip current was to blame.
Local
Andy Rodriguez said he and his sister were swimming nearby when they felt a rip current start to pull them out. Minutes later, they said the women were pulled away from the shore.
Weather forecasts on Sunday called for a high risk of rip currents due to windy conditions.
