Rescue divers scoured the surf in Brooklyn Tuesday night, where a witness believes he saw a swimmer disappear in the surf at the end of a jetty.
The witnesses, Edwin Rondon, 58, of Sunset Park, said he saw a man in the water at the end of the jetty on Coney Island Avenue in Brighton Beach disappear into the waves at about 8 p.m. Rondon said he dived into the water to reach what he believes was a swimmer.
“I saw a man right at where the rocks end,” Rondon said as he discussed the sighting with members of the NYPD harbor unit. “I saw him go under and then he came back up and then he went back under and I thought that was impossible he was trying to swim under the rocks and he must be in trouble.”
Rondon said that by the time he made it to the rocks, he didn’t see the man anymore and dived in after him.
“I swam out towards the rocks and didn’t see him, but the surf was too strong, so I had to go back in,” Rondon said. Witnesses called police and firefighters to the scene, he said.
Dozens of firefighters arrived and sent in divers to search for the missing man. They were assisted by several fire and police boats shining spotlights on the area, along with a police helicopter providing lighting from above.
After more than an hour of searching through the surf in the dark, rescuers called it quits.
Nobody on the beach, which is supposed to be closed, reported anyone missing, but police will investigate further.
