2 Teen Sisters Die After Being Pulled from the Water at Coney Island Beach: 'Tragic Event'

Two teenage sisters were pronounced dead after police say they were pulled from the water at Coney Island Beach in Brooklyn, New York.

On Friday, July 5, around 8:10 p.m. local time, authorities responded to a call about a "water rescue" around Stillwell Avenue and Boardwalk West, the New York Police Department told PEOPLE.

When they arrived, officers discovered that two teenage girls "entered the water and disappeared from view" at the beach. "The NYPD's Aviation, Harbor and Scuba units responded to the scene and conducted a search for the individuals," the NYPD said. "Divers removed both females from the water."

The teenagers, who have since been identified as 18-year-old Aisha Mohammed and 17-year-old Zainab Mohammed of the Bronx, were transported to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead.

The investigation is ongoing, the NYPD said.

Multiple outlets, including CBS News and WABC, reported that Aisha and Zainab were sisters. Witness Danny Quinones told CBS that the girls' deaths were a "tragic event."

"I saw a lot of cops and firemen running towards the situation, and then the next thing you know, the family of the victims they go to the same area but were told to go to the boardwalk," he said.

The teens' father, Mohammed Faye, told The New York Times that relatives called him at 8:30 p.m. to notify him that his daughters were missing before his "whole family rushed to the beach." He said that by the time he arrived at the hospital, Zainab was pronounced dead and medical staff were trying to revive Aisha.

Faye revealed that his daughters left for the beach from their grandmother's house and that the girls could not swim. He also told the outlet that he used to drive Zainab and Aisha to Coney Island when they were younger.

"I wish they would have asked me," he said. "I would have asked God to take me and leave them."

WABC reported that the teens entered the ocean as other people on the beach ran for cover amid rainfall. A witness told the outlet that a man attempted to stop them but was unsuccessful. Others reportedly did not want to enter the water due to the rough conditions.

"A guy, he saw the two little girls asking for help so he tried to help but he also went into the water but he can't swim either," the witness said.

The teens were pulled from the water at 9:30 p.m. and pronounced dead after 10 p.m., per CBS News.

Their deaths come less than 24 hours after two teenage boys were pulled out of the water on the same beach after lifeguards had ended their work days, the outlet noted. One of the boys was reportedly taken to Coney Island Hospital in stable condition.