AVON-BY-THE-SEA, N.J. (1010 WINS) — A veteran FDNY firefighter died Friday trying to rescue his teen daughter from drowning at a New Jersey beach, officials said.
Mark Batista, 39, jumped into the ocean off Sylvania Avenue Beach in Avon-by-the-Sea after his daughter became entangled in a rip current, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Rescuers pulled the teen from the water and rushed her to a local hospital, where she is expected to recover.
Batista got caught in the current himself and was pulled under. He was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
In a statement issued on Saturday, FDNY spokesperson Amanda Farinacci Gonzalez said, "We are heartbroken to learn about the death of Firefighter Mark Batista, who died Friday while swimming at the Jersey Shore."
Batista, a Teaneck resident, was a member of Brooklyn's Engine 226 and a 15-year veteran of the FDNY. He previously served as an EMT.
"We join his family in mourning his tragic passing," Gonzalez added.
Following Friday's tragedy, the sheriff's office issued a warning "to please NOT go in the water when there are no lifeguards on duty."
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