N.Va. woman drowns at Virginia Beach

VIRGINIA BEACH -- A 33-year-old woman from Northern Virginia drowned Friday night in the Atlantic Ocean at Virginia Beach.

Officials said Sujana Umesh of Ashburn was swimming with her family near 36th Street when a rip current pulled them away from shore just after 8 p.m.

Lifeguards and other beach-goers went into the water to help pull them out and began rescuing people, but they were unable to get to Umesh in time, said officer Adam Bernstein, a police spokesman.

"They knew she was in the water but could not get to her," he said.

Rip currents are narrow, fast-moving channels of water that flow from the surf to deeper water. Sandbars break down after several days of large waves. Water funnels through them, creating the powerful currents.

Swimmers who are caught in a rip current should swim parallel to the shore until out of the current. People who fight the current by swimming toward the beach can overexert and panic.

A Maryland man drowned at the oceanfront in May after a rip current pulled him away from shore. Twenty-four people have drowned at the oceanfront since 1998.