The National Weather Service Wilmington (NWS) said rip currents are the main cause of weather deaths in the coastal Carolinas. Nationally, the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA), estimates they cause 100 drownings a year.
Seven months after helping save two children from drowning at Kure Beach, Antonio Burns still can t hear the sound of running water without feeling overwhelmed.
KURE BEACH ââ At times Antonio Burns feels heâs still under the water.
Itâs dark and muffled with the sound of sloshing waves overhead. It doesnât help when he awakes in a sweat, drenched.
âI feel like I just jumped out of the pool, or I may not even want to sleep at all â just awful flashbacks,â Burns said. âItâs probably gonna take a long time. Gonna take a long time to mentally recover.â
Nearing a month since Apr. 18, the 27-year-old is working on restrengthening himself mentally since the trauma he endured that Sunday. A photographer from Winston-Salem, Burns headed to the beach for a relaxing day on the sand, snapping shots and capturing reel. Then he saw two girls being towed away in a rip current and caught the eye of a woman across the beach, calling on him to act.
Man recalls tragic rip current rescue in first trip back to Kure Beach
Rip current survivor who rescued girls returns to Kure Beach By Elly Cosgrove | May 3, 2021 at 8:22 PM EDT - Updated May 3 at 9:32 PM
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Antonio Burns still vividly remembers the day at Kure Beach that took the life of beloved Ashley High School teacher and active church member, Jessica Embry.
Both Burns and Embry jumped in the water to save two girls caught in a rip current. Embry tragically paid the ultimate price and passed away at the scene. Burns is paying a different price after a four-day stay at the hospital: medical expenses.