The victim has been identified and experts talk about how waves can kill in the latest update. Click or tap here.

A 44-year-old New Brunswick man was apparently killed by a wave while swimming 30 yards off the shoreline in Seaside Heights on Saturday evening.

His wife and young son were on the beach as first-responders rushed into the water and pulled his body back to the sand where they attempted to resuscitate him to no avail, according to Seaside Heights Police Detective Steven Korman.

A 911 caller saw the man, who police have not identified by name, motionless, floating face down in the water after he was struck by a wave at about 7:15 p.m.

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Three police officers charged into the ocean near Fremont Avenue, where they encountered a strong rip current, Korman told the Asbury Park Press in an email this morning.

The wave may have broken the man's neck, Seaside Heights Police Chief Tommy Boyd told the Press on Saturday night. Korman did not provide the Press with a suspected cause of death.

The beach was not supervised by lifeguards, which protect bathers in Seaside Heights from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends only, now that the summer season is winding down.

While New Jersey avoided practically all the impacts from Hurricane Florence, which is now a tropical depression and headed our way, the Shore has been pounded during the last week by swells that emanated from the massive cyclone.

These supercharged waves have created churning surf and dangerous swimming conditions for much of the East Coast.

High surf and rip current advisories for the Shore were issued and repeatedly extended by the National Weather Service in Mount Holly last week.

The NWS released a warning for rip currents at 3:24 p.m. Saturday, saying the threat would not subside until 9 p.m. There is a moderate risk of rip currents today.

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Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@app.com, @russzimmer