A courageous woman tried but failed to save her friend after he was swept out to sea off Rockaway Beach.
As the powerful currents pulled the man farther and farther from land shortly before midnight Sunday, his companion jumped into the waters off Beach Ninth Street in Far Rockaway to try to rescue him, according to police.
Emergency responders who arrived on the scene managed to pull the woman to safety, but were unable to find her missing friend.
The distraught woman, wet and shivering, restlessly paced on a dock as rescue crews searched the water throughout the night before ending the hunt due to the stormy conditions.
“We were out there for the rescue, but had to call it off because the weather was so bad,” a police source said of the emergency response.
“It got to a point where we had to postpone the search until the storm ended.”
Severe thunderstorms that battered the city Sunday created the riptide that swept away the unidentified man, authorities said.
Cops were still trying to figure out why the man leapt into the water, but they assume it was a suicide attempt.
“His companion jumped in to find him, but it was too late. The riptide sent him out to sea,” the source said. “All she could do at that point was call the police.”
The woman was treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Search efforts continued throughout Monday, but the man’s body had not been recovered, authorities said.
The search will continue on Tuesday, according to police.