13 Drownings Punctuate A Deadly Summer In NJ

It has been a summer filled with beach days and afternoons by the pool, full of pleasant memories for thousands of New Jersey families.

For others, the summer of 2026 has been tragic. From the beaches to lakes to backyard pools, there have been 13 drownings across New Jersey as of Aug. 18, 10 of them fatal.

That includes six drowning incidents since the beginning of August, four of them fatal.

Between 8 p.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday, a pair of paddleboarders drowned in separate incidents in North Jersey lakes. A 24-year-old man drowned at Tilcon Lake in Mount Olive on Saturday, and a 41-year-old man died Sunday afternoon in the lake at Hopatcong State Park, authorities said.

In Union Township, a 5-year-old boy died two days after he was found in a backyard pool on Aug. 9, authorities said.

A 2-year-old boy was found in a pool in Mount Laurel on Aug. 11, police said. He was found unresponsive and taken to a hospital but did not survive.

In Warren County, an 18-year-old was hospitalized on Aug. 11 after he was revived following a drowning incident at a camp in Hardwick, police said. The teen was alert when authorities arrived.

On Aug. 13, a 3-year-old boy was revived after a drowning incident in a swimming pool in Hackettstown. He was in critical condition as of Friday, authorities said.

Another child was revived after drowning by lifeguards who pulled him from a swimming pool on July 30 in Basking Ridge, authorities said. The 9-year-old had been swimming when he wound up in the deep end and became submerged, authorities said.

On July 30, a 3-year-old girl was found unresponsive in a pool in Englewood Cliffs after going missing in the afternoon. Efforts to revive her were unsuccessful.

Before that, a New Brunswick man died on July 15, after he disappeared while swimming at Dallenbach Lake in East Brunswick. Carlos Iraheta-Cortes, 59, was found after an extensive search of the lake, authorities said.

The string of recent drownings were not the only ones this summer. May and June saw four fatal drownings at ocean beaches at the Jersey Shore. Those drownings happened when lifeguards were not present.

A man who was boogie boarding in Ocean City during May was knocked off by a wave. His body was recovered a month later in Sea Isle City.

A 14-year-old special needs boy on a class trip disappeared in Wildwood waters on June 1. His body was found in Cape May a week later.

A Forked River man died on June 5 after being caught in a rip current in Ship Bottom.

And a Palmyra man drowned on June 5 in Seaside Park. His body was never recovered.

The federal Centers for Disease Control defines drowning as "the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion or immersion in liquid. Drowning happens when a person's nose and mouth are under water for too long, making it impossible to breathe."

Drowning is not always fatal, the CDC says, and for those who survive the results can range from no serious long-term effects to very serious injuries such as brain damage or permanent disability.

About 65 people die each year from drowning in New Jersey, according to the New Jersey Department of Children and Families, and an estimated 4,000 people die each year from drowning across the United States, according to the CDC.

It is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4, and the second-leading cause of death — behind motor vehicle crashes — for children ages 5 to 14, the CDC says.