Three young fathers tragically lost their lives last Friday while vacationing in Florida due to a dangerous rip current.

Harold Denzel Hunter, 25, Jemonda Ray, 24, and Marius Richardson, 24, had traveled with a group of six friends from Birmingham, Alabama, to relax for the weekend in an AirBnB near Panama City Beach, Florida.

The group decided to take a dip in the water, unaware of the intense rip current from the Gulf of Mexico. Rip currents are strong, narrow flows of water that are less than 80 feet wide but have immense force.

Once the men entered the water, they were quickly pulled under by the current. Emergency services managed to recover them and rush them to the hospital, but sadly, they were pronounced dead upon arrival.

The Bay County Sheriff’s Office shared a heartbreaking message on June 21, stating, “It is with profound sadness that we announce all three young men that entered the water around 8 PM today and became distressed have passed away.”