SWAMPSCOTT — Swampscott Police rescued six swimmers in distress from the waters of two town beaches over the weekend.
On Sunday, police responded to a report of two swimmers struggling in the water off King’s Beach near Mission on the Bay, according to Swampscott Police Sgt. Tim Cassidy.
Officer Kevin Reen, a veteran of the Ironman Triathlon, ran down to the beach, took off his gun belt, bulletproof vest and boots and jumped into the water to make the rescue — the two swimmers were about 200 yards from the shore, Cassidy said.
The man and woman had been on a raft that kept getting pushed out to sea and in a panic, they had jumped off the raft and were struggling to stay afloat. When Reen approached the swimmers, he noticed the woman was in distress and the man was having trouble keeping her from going under the water, Cassidy said.
Reen was able to grab onto the woman and pull her to shore, where she vomited from all of the saltwater she had swallowed. She was subsequently attended to by Officer Mike Serino, Swampscott Fire and Atlantic Ambulance. The man was helped onto shore by several onlookers, Cassidy said.
“It was an incredible job by Officer Kevin Reen and the Swampscott (Police) Marine Unit assisting and saving these swimmers’ lives,” Cassidy said.
The rescue came a day after police took part in saving a family of four who had been in distress in the water off of Eisman’s Beach. The family had been on paddle boards and the two small children were on kayaks. They were struggling to get back to shore because of strong winds and were being pushed into the rocks, Cassidy said.
The family was assisted to shore by the Swampscott Police Marine Unit, Sgt. William Waters, Sgt. Jay Locke and Officer Brendan Reen, Cassidy said.