Three tourists, including East Tennessee man, killed by rip currents in Gulf of Mexico

Three tourists — including an East Tennessee man — were killed by rip currents in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida Panhandle over the weekend.

Bhuvaneshwar Karunanithi, 49, of Ootlewah, Tennessee, drowned at Henderson Beach State Park in Destin on Saturday afternoon, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office.

Karunanithi was swimming in rough surf about thigh high when his legs were swept out from under him, his daughter told deputies. He was pulled unconscious from the water and pronounced dead at a local emergency room.

On Sunday afternoon, two men died in Panama City after being pulled from the water in separate incidents, local media outlets reported. Lifeguards had posted red flags to warn beachgoers of high surf and strong currents.

The swimmers were identified as Jeffrey Simms, 59, and Jesse Spaulding, 41, both of West Virginia. Witnesses said it appeared they were caught up in rip currents.

The three deaths bring the number of rip current drownings in the U.S. this year to at least 24, according to statistics kept by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Last year saw 71 rip current drownings, up from an average of 58 per year from 2009-2018.

Rip currents are strong but narrow channels that form when waves break near beaches, causing water to be trapped between the shoreline and another underwater feature, such as a sandbar, the NOAA said. The currents flow away from the shore and can quickly carry unsuspecting swimmers away.

A swimmer caught in a rip current should not panic but instead focus on keeping their head above water, ride out the current until it dissipates and swim parallel to the shore to escape.