Coast Guard Warns About Water Safety After 9 Deaths In 2 Weeks In Mid-Atlantic

Nine people have died in the waters of the mid-Atlantic in the past two weeks, according to the Coast Guard. The death of the 52-year-old boater in Ocean City last weekend was the latest in a string of drownings and boating accidents so far this summer - and technically, summer doesn't officially begin until June 21.

The Coast Guard notes that several of the fatalities involved boaters who were not wearing life jackets. According to Coast Guard statistics, such drownings caused 75 percent of all boating deaths in 2010 and of those who drowned, 88 percent were not wearing life jackets.

The dangers for swimmers are no less. On May 31 in Virginia Beach, a 9-year-old boy died after getting caught in a rip current. Another young swimmer died in a rip current at Bradley Beach, N.J., on June 9.

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