Man, 22, Disappears While Swimming During Intense Thunderstorms at N.Y. Beach

A 22-year-old man remains missing after disappearing from a New York beach this week.

On Friday, July 25, shortly after 6 p.m. local time, police responded to a report of a man who could not be found after he was last seen swimming at Rockaway Beach in Queens, a New York Police Department (NYPD) spokesperson told PEOPLE.

The man, whose identity has not yet been shared publicly, went missing as thunderstorms hit the area.

The NYPD’s Harbor, Emergency Service, Scuba and Aviation Units have been “actively canvassing for the male,” the NYPD said, with the investigation remaining ongoing as of Sunday, July 27.

Rising Tide Effect nonprofit founder Kaitlin Krause told The Gothamist she was on the beach setting up a swim safety instruction when she found out the man had gone missing.

“I was literally setting up my handouts when I saw the firetrucks charging down the boardwalk,” she said, adding that the man’s family has contacted her for updates.

The swimmer, Krause told the outlet, was an immigrant from Niger who took his second day off work in two years.

“All the locals know that’s a treacherous spot. At the top, it looks calm, but under, it’s moving,” she said of the area where the man disappeared.

“It literally feels like time is set on fire, and you’re burning it all up, because this kid has no oxygen,” Krause added.

NBC News New York reported that severe thunderstorms hit the area on July 25, affecting sections of New York City, New Jersey and Long Island.

Krause said lifeguards raced into the ocean to locate the missing man the day he went missing.

The Gothamist shared footage of swimmers searching for him, and additional video shared on the Citizen app, as covered by WPIX, showed fire department and police personnel responding to the scene with boats and divers in an effort to find the man in the water.

According to The Gothamist, NYC Parks said lifeguards have conducted 126 beach rescues so far this summer. If the man did indeed drown, he would mark the second person to do so this year.

Per the NYC Parks website, lifeguards are on duty at Rockaway Beach daily during beach season from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Swimming is prohibited in close sections and when lifeguards are off duty.