At least four die in US doing deadly ‘jump off the boat’ TikTok challenge

The TikTok challenge has people jumping off the back of a high-speed boat, feet first. Some jump with their backs to the sea or lake, while others do backflips. — AP

Update: “On Monday, July 3, a news story was shared regarding “first responders warning against a deadly boating TikTok trend after recent drownings” in Alabama. However, please be advised the information released to the news outlet was incorrect. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) Marine Patrol Division does not have any record(s) of boating or marine-related fatalities in Alabama that can be directly linked to TikTok or a trend on TikTok. One individual was fatality injured after jumping from a moving vessel in 2020 and a similar marine-related fatality occurred in 2021, however, both fatalities cannot be linked to TikTok,” according to a statement from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

“It got blown way out of proportion,’’ Childersburg Rescue Squad Capt. Jim Dennis said of the publicity, which was even a topic of discussion Monday on the Today Show. “If there’s data supporting that (boat jumping deaths in Alabama), I don’t have that.” Dennis said he worked one death of someone jumping from a boat. “To say that’s the reason they died, I can’t say that,’’ he said. “That would be a matter of opinion.”