PLUM ISLAND — Eight young adults enjoying an afternoon at the beach were suddenly swept into the Merrimack River yesterday — seven were rescued, but a 21-year-old Lynn woman could not be located after an intensive search.
Rescue boats, helicopters, a Coast Guard jet and divers spent hours searching the chilly waters for Marina Khon at the mouth of the Merrimack River at Plum Island. The search ended late last night and was expected to continue today.
With temperatures nearing 90, hundreds flocked to local beaches yesterday. Among them was Rahtana Ny, 27, of Lynn, and a group of his friends from the Lynn and Revere area who spent the better part of the day at the northernmost tip of Plum Island Point. Eight of his friends went out in the shallow water on a sandbar just offshore and were caught by the rising tide that pulled them away from shore.
"All of a sudden, everyone was screaming," he said.
He and three other people who were on the beach fishing went to help them, but the current was too strong. The Merrimack River narrows here as it spills into the sea, and notoriously fast and dangerous currents can develop quickly.
Bystander Rich Dunn, who was fishing near the group, said he watched the group playing football in the water and believes someone missed the ball and went after it.
"They must have got swept in," he said. "They started screaming for help, and two guys ran in."
Dunn called 911 around 6 p.m., when he saw one girl having trouble swimming and realized they were stuck, he said.
"When they were first out there, they were knee deep and the water was calm," Newburyport police Sgt. Pete Finnegan said. "Then, as it tends to do, the tide started coming in and churning up, and they got taken in."
U.S. Coast Guard Station Merrimack River received a call via VHF-FM radio on emergency boat channel 16 from a Good Samaritan, reporting eight people were swept off a sandbar, according to the USCG District 1 public affairs. 911 also received the report.
Finnegan said private boats and fishing boats came in and made multiple rescues.
Fisherman Richard Mallon of Amesbury was on shore when he saw the group yelling for help. He believes they had gotten washed off the sandbar. He went in to try to help them, but the current was too fast and too strong, he said. "Everyone was screaming," he said. "They kept getting drifted farther and farther out."
Mallon said two fishing boats and a Jet Ski came out and rescued six of them. Dunn, as well as bystanders Will Raschke and Leanne Benson, both of Newburyport, reported that three smaller, possibly private, boats helped most of the group out of the water.
Mallon said it took about 10 to 15 minutes for the Coast Guard to arrive, and the Salisbury Fire Department arrived at the other side of the river around the same time.
In all, seven people were recovered by local police, Good Samaritans and the harbormaster. They were taken to the Captain's Fishing Parties dock near the town pier on Plum Island Point and taken to Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport, officer Edward Rice said.
Bystander Lyman Peterson of Newburyport said two of the rescued victims were able to walk, while the rest were taken away on stretchers. Dunn said one of the rescued victims was unconscious.
The rescued victims include Nguyen Hoya, 22, of Revere; Rahtha Saygnarath, 24, of Lynn; Thanada Saygnarath, 21, of Lynn; Calvin Keo, 20, of Lynn; a 21-year-old from Lynn, and a 20-year-old from Revere.
The group had brought fishing poles, towels, food and cookout gear to the beach and went out into the water right in front of where they had set up their belongings. Rice said there appeared to be no alcohol with their equipment, and he didn't believe drinking was a factor in the case. Ny — the only member of the group who did not go into the water — sat for hours on the beach watching the recovery attempts. He told The Daily News that Khon was his brother's girlfriend.
The conditions of the rescued victims are unknown, according to USCG District 1.
The missing woman was wearing white shorts and a teal-colored bathing suit.
A number of vessels responded to the scene to aid in the search for the missing woman, including a 47-foot boat crew from Coast Guard Station Merrimack River, a Falcon jet crew and Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, the Salisbury Harbor Patrol, the Newburyport dive team, the Massachusetts State Police, the Newburyport and Salisbury police departments, the State Police Air wing, diver Mike Goodrich of Towboat US, and several Good Samaritans.
A Coast Guard official said the Coast Guard Sector Boston was coordinating the search, and a helicopter with night vision and heat radar was used when the sun set.
As of 10:30 p.m. last night, the Coast Guard was still searching for Khon, according to John Tomaszewski, a Search and Rescue controller at USCG District 1. He said the Coast Guard boat would be out all night, and the helicopter would return this morning.
Mallon said the area where the teens were in the water — the Plum Island mouth of the Merrimack River — is a notoriously dangerous area.
"When the tides change, the current is so strong," he said. "I've seen three people drown here."
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