Two Nigerian sisters, Aisha Mohammed, 18, and Zainab Mohammed, 17, tragically drowned while swimming at New York’s Coney Island Beach in Brooklyn on Friday night, July 5.
The sisters, who were originally from Nigeria but resided in the Bronx, went missing around 8 p.m. near Stillwell Avenue and Boardwalk West after entering the water and disappearing from view, according to the NYPD. Witnesses reported that a rainstorm prompted most beachgoers to seek shelter, but the young women ventured into the rough ocean water. A man attempted to dissuade them but was unable to swim himself, and it remains unclear if he knew the sisters.
A relative revealed to News 12 that the sisters were accompanied by six cousins at the beach that day. Emergency services received a water rescue call around 8:10 p.m., and officers, along with aviation, harbor, and scuba units, launched a search operation.
An hour later, divers recovered the bodies of Aisha and Zainab Mohammed. Both were transported to NYC Health and Hospitals/Coney Island, where they were pronounced dead.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing. A funeral service for the sisters took place at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 9, at the Yankasa Masjid Mosque.
