NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Authorities continued searching Thursday afternoon for a 21-year-old swimmer who disappeared Wednesday night in the ocean in North Myrtle Beach.

“Emergency personnel remain actively involved in search efforts both on the beach and in the ocean near 45th Avenue South in North Myrtle Beach,” the city said shortly before noon in a Facebook post. “There is a visible presence of emergency vehicles in the area as crews continue their coordinated efforts. We ask the public to avoid the immediate area if possible and to follow any instructions from First Responders.”

Local authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard began searching for the missing person Wednesday night after getting a report at about 8:30 p.m. that two swimmers, ages 18 and 21, were in distress, North Myrtle Beach Fire Rescue said in a Facebook post. Police and fire rescue swimmers immediately entered the water and were able to pull the 18-year-old to the shore.

Crews then searched throughout the evening in the area between 48th Avenue S. and Main Street. North Myrtle Beach Fire Chief Billy Floyd told News13 that a Coast Guard helicopter and on-beach police patrols were out all night.

The rescued swimmer was taken to the hospital as a precaution. As fire and police units continued searching along the shoreline, a Coast Guard helicopter conducted a grid search between the Windy Hill and Cherry Grove beaches, fire officials said in the post.

The rescue operation drew a crowd of onlookers to the beach, including Olivia Dean, who is in the area on vacation. Dean said she was inside, spending time with family, when she noticed flashing lights outside.

“I was like ‘hey guys, you should come outside, like, something’s going on,'” she said. “We didn’t really know what it was, and so we go outside and all the personnel, the EMT, fire were out there.”

She said it was a “scary” situation.

“You don’t know who it is,” she said. “It’s someone’s someone, and so it’s just a lot of prayers were going around in my family, and we just took a moment to just asked the Lord to just wash over them, just [give them] protection.”