Aug 23, 6:34 PM EDT
Hurricane wave sweeps Maine spectators out to sea
By JASON BRONIS
Associated Press Writer
EDGARTOWN, Mass. (AP) -- A rogue wave from Hurricane Bill swept spectators out to sea at a Maine park Sunday as the storm-churned surf attracted onlookers and daredevils along the Eastern Seaboard.
Rescue crews were searching for people believed to be lost in the waves near Acadia National Park as a man, a woman and a 7-year-old girl were pulled from the sea, Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Shane Coxon.
The three were part of an early afternoon crowd that had gathered on some rocks at the park's Thunder Hole, a popular tourist attraction where waves often crash into a crevasse and make a thundering sound while splashing high in the air.
"This is absolutely the effects of Hurricane Bill" coupled with the effect of high tide, park ranger Sonya Berger said.
The girl was unresponsive when she was rescued, the woman appeared to have a broken leg and the man had a previous heart condition that appeared to be acting up, Coxon said. Other people are believed to still be lost in the waves but Coxon did not know how many. The waves were running 10 to 12 feet high with 25-knot winds along the coast, he said.
The hurricane was also blamed for the death of a 54-year-old swimmer Saturday in Florida. Volusia County Beach Patrol Capt. Scott Petersohn said Angel Rosa of Orlando was unconscious when he washed ashore in rough waves fueled by Bill at New Smyrna Beach, along the central Florida coast. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Lifeguards there also rescued a handful of other swimmers believed to have suffered spinal injuries.
The center of the hurricane was about 400 miles west-southwest of Newfoundland late Sunday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center. Its maximum sustained winds had dropped to 75 mph, and it was moving northeast at 35 mph. The storm is expected to continue to lose strength as it moves over cooler waters.
