PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — Three men from Alabama were killed after going swimming at Panama Beach and getting caught in a rip current.
Harold Denzel Hunter, 25; Jemonda Ray, 24; and Marius Richardson, 24, checked into their rental and rushed to get into the water just before 8 p.m. on Friday after traveling from Birmingham, according to the Bay County Sheriff's Office.
Shortly after, the sheriff's office received a call reporting three distressed swimmers in the Gulf behind a condo building. The sheriff's office used their air unit and worked with emergency services, the Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife for two hours to locate the men.
They were all pulled from the water and died at local hospitals, according to deputies.
"I have such a heavy heart this morning about the loss of three young visitors to our community. I'm praying for their family and ask that you do the same. It is such a tragedy," Sheriff Tommy Ford said on Facebook.
He applauded the rescue crews who went into the dark waters to search for the men.
"They have my utmost respect as I know they are suiting up again today to keep our citizens and visitors safe," he said.
In the two days following, the water conditions were marked as hazardous and on Sunday and Monday, the waters were closed to swimmers. On Tuesday, the sheriff's office announced there were high-hazard conditions. Another distressed swimmer died Sunday morning after she went in the water at Panama City Beach, deputies said.
Rip currents are narrow columns of water flowing rapidly away from the beach that can carry swimmers far from the shore. Experts say the best way to escape one is to swim parallel to the shore.
About 100 people drown from rip currents along U.S. beaches each year, according to the United States Lifesaving Association. And more than 80 percent of beach rescues annually involve rip currents.
It's important for swimmers to abide by the flags posted on the beach to avoid swimming in unsafe conditions. Three flags warn of surf and rip current conditions. Red means a high hazard, yellow means a moderate threat and green means low danger.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.