Sergio Bichao

@sbichao

SOUTH PLAINFIELD – What began as a day on the beach for cousins enjoying the last moments of summer ended in tragedy Tuesday afternoon when 17-year-old Sarmad Rizvi was knocked down by a wave and swallowed by a rip current on a Sandy Hook beach.

Although Rizvi was not an experienced swimmer, he was barely in the water. His cousin, Ali Rizvi, 20, said his cousin's shorts were still dry before a wave, coupled with the force of the current, dragged him into deeper water.

"He didn't have any grip on the sand," Rizvi told the Home News Tribune on Wednesday. "Once he slipped, it was a heartbreaking scene."

Jersey Shore beachgoers have been asked to be on high alert because of treacherous rip currents caused by Hurricane Cristobal passing off the coast. The National Weather Service earlier this week issued a warning of elevated rip current risks, which is likely to continue into Thursday.

A third cousin, wading a bit deeper, also was knocked down by a wave, but three nearby swimmers helped him regain his footing, Rizvi said.

But Sarmad, who was shorter and smaller than his cousin, was swept away in a blink of an eye, his head and arms bobbing for maybe a second above the surface before disappearing.

Sarmad's body washed up farther down about 30 minutes later and was pulled to shore by lifeguards, who attempted lifesaving measures. He was taken to Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch and was pronounced dead 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, Gateway National Park Service spokeswoman Daphne Yun told the Asbury Park Press.

The family was on unguarded beach but Rizvi said they were within sight of lifeguards, about 20 of whom responded to the rescue, Yun said.

But without being able to spot any body in the water, there was little either the lifeguards or the divers could do.

"The water was very dangerous and the divers didn't know where to go," Rizvi said.

Johanna Zamuria, 20, of Teterboro, who was on the beach during the rescue, said she normally swims in the ocean but stayed out of the water Tuesday because the waves were too rough.

"It was back to back," she said about the pounding surf. Zamuria took a video of the nearly two dozen lifeguards attempting the rescue. The video can be seen at MyCentralJersey.com.

This was the first drowning at Sandy Hook this year, Yun said. There were no drownings last year.

Sarmad was a week from starting senior year at South Plainfield High School, were he was a wrestler.

Rizvi remembers his cousin always sporting the latest hair style and fashions and always having the latest smartphone or gadget. Sarmad was planning to attend Rutgers University and continue wrestling.

Lately, Sarmad had been practicing driving with his parents, who were not on the beach Tuesday, and was excited about taking his driver's test next month. On Wednesday relatives were helping his inconsolable parents plan funeral arrangements, Rizvi said.

"It was sad to see it happen in front of my eyes. That is what hurt the most," Rizvi said. "Nobody deserves that. Maybe God calls the better ones first."

The South Plainfield school district posted a statement to its website Wednesday saying it is "deeply saddened by the unexpected and untimely passing of a senior at South Plainfield High School" and said guidance counselors would be available at the high school to help grieving students and staff.

"We are all profoundly saddened by his death, and our hearts go out to his parents and family," the statement says.

A prayer service will be 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Masjid-E-Ali, 47 Cedar Grove Lane, Somerset . Burial will be Thursday morning after a 10 a.m. service at the mosque.

Contributing: Staff Writers Stephanie Loder and Margaret F. Bonafide.

Staff Writer Sergio Bichao: 908-243-6615; sbichao@mycentraljersey.com