17-year-old drowns in strong current at Hampton Beach in New Hampshire

A teenager drowned Sunday night while swimming in strong ocean currents at Hampton Beach in New Hampshire.

The victim, 17-year-old Youness Kraouch from Hooksett, New Hampshire, was swimming with family members when he was pulled away from the shore. The boy’s father, 61-year-old Laarbi Kraouch, rushed into the water in an attempt to save his son. 

“It was so tough and hard too because the waves, they push him back,” Laarbi Kraouch said through a translator. “It’s so hard to get in.” 

While the father attempted the rescue, he also started struggling and needed to be rescued. 

The lifeguards were able to bring the teenager and his father back to shore. They performed CPR on the 17-year-old and he was rushed to an area hospital but did not survive. Police said the boy’s father was also taken to Exeter Hospital for treatment. 

Youness moved to the U.S. from Morocco to finish high school and go to college. His family wants him to be remembered as a young beautiful soul, a devout Muslim who loved playing soccer. 

“He’s a hard worker,” Youness’s father said. “He’s a tough guy. He wants to achieve a lot of goals.” 

Red flag warnings

Red flag warnings were in effect Sunday and Monday in New Hampshire, urging swimmers to stay out of the water as remnants from Hurricane Erin churned up the surf.

“Red flag means high hazard, restricted swimming. We are restricting people to waist up,” said Patrick Murphy, Chief of New Hampshire State Beach Patrol. 

Muphy said lifeguards are only on duty until 5:30 p.m., then they rush back with firefighters if there’s an emergency, which they did on Sunday night around 6:45 p.m. when the father and son were in distress about 50 yards from shore. 

“Once the lifeguards are gone, hazards rise,” Murphy said. “We are here to prevent people from getting in trouble. Our guards are tremendous. They do an outstanding job. Throughout the entire swell that Hurricane Erin brought.” 

And that’s what has created the big waves, Hurricane Erin, 100 miles offshore. 

“But even that far away it has a significant impact on our beach, our beaches and on the surf that we see,” Hampton Fire Chief Michael McMahon said. “Sometimes there’s a multi-day lag and it’s still big today.” 

Which is why the fire chief said it’s so important to swim only when lifeguards are on duty, and especially not at night. 

A week earlier, before Hurricane Erin’s arrival, rip currents forced lifeguards at Hampton Beach to make 144 rescues over the course of several days.

Not far away at Massachusetts’ Salisbury Beach, a boater remains missing after a vessel capsized Saturday afternoon.

The Coast Guard rescued one person from the capsized boat, but the second person has not yet been found.