VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Beach is working an incident in which one person has been taken to the hospital in critical condition and two others are missing in the water.
Several calls came in to Virginia Beach Emergency Communications and Citizen Services at 8:24 p.m., according to a city press release. Three males were reported to be swimming in the ocean off 16th Street and were struggling to make it to shore.
First responders arrived and found one individual washed ashore, the press release stated. They began life-saving measures and transported him to a local hospital, where he is in critical condition.
The Coast Guard, VBFD and VBPD marine units, VBPD aviation units, and VBPD ATVs and UTVs have been deployed in search of the possible two other missing individuals.
Bruce Nedelka, division chief with Virginia Beach EMS, said the search was focusing mainly to the north of the original calls due to the current.
"From about 15th Street all the way up to 30th, 40th Street," he said. "My understanding is that the current is going north and that’s why they are focusing up to the north; however, they do go a little bit further south just as a loop."
Emergency officials have not yet revealed the ages or descriptions of the hospitalized person or the people they are seeking.
This is an ongoing search, and 13News Now will keep you updated as we learn more.