2 teens dead after being pulled from the water in New York

A swim ended tragically in Queens, New York on Friday. 

Dozens of first responders were seen trying to find teenage boys on Howard Beach near the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. 

The spot is popular with fishermen and windsurfers who say the water there can be tricky. 

The call for help came shortly before noon: Two kids missing in Jamaica Bay. Search and rescue teams from the NYPD and FDNY rushed to the scene near Beach 121st Street and Newport Avenue. 

Police say they were both 13. Their identities have not yet been released.

“I see, like, boats, the NYPD boats, two helicopters came and they start to search everywhere, and I can tell you they did an amazing job,” said witness Wall Gapher. 

Gapher was there to take pictures of the beach area, but started snapping shots of the search effort. 

At 12:35 p.m., the first victim was pulled from the water. The search continued for the second child. Rescue teams found the second victim 30 minutes later. 

After being pulled from the water, both boys were rushed to the hospital, but did not survive.

Paul Kearns-Stanley often fishes in Jamaica Bay, and was shocked to hear what happened. 

“It’s terrible. It’s horrible. It’s very scary, and it’s amazing how fast something like that can happen. Water is unpredictable,” Kearns-Stanley said.