2 men died from drowning at the Jersey Shore forcing renewed safety warnings

Police in New Jersey are issuing new warnings about swimming in illegal and unprotected places after two men died just hours apart over the weekend in Ocean County.

It's the crystal blue water that keeps drawing people in that is more dangerous than some may think.

“Guessing over my 27 years here. There's been 12 to 15 drownings here," Manchester Township Police and OEM coordinator Sgt. Robert Sharry said.

Sharry and other emergency crews responded to the latest drowning on Saturday morning.

A 33-year-old man from Howell Township lost his life after he started struggling while trying to swim across the lake at a former quarry and then disappeared beneath the surface.

Like many other old quarries in the state of New Jersey, it is inherently dangerous as the depth of the water can suddenly change with steep drop offs.

“Once you hit that drop-off, it's a 45-degree decline right into about 65 feet of water," Sgt. Sharry explained. “There's no lifeguards here. There's no safe swimming areas."

Swimming is not allowed at the lake where the Howell Township man died which is in a remote section of Manchester.

Just hours later, a 55-year-old man from Point Pleasant Borough died after he apparently drowned as well.

“It's pretty far out in the woods and that unfortunately hinders the recovery process," Sharry said.

The former Heritage Minerals Quarry site is on 7,000 acres of private property and has been especially problematic over the years.

“It's a private lake, it's private property. Nobody is supposed to be out here," Sharry said.

Police have tried to block entry points but say people are seemingly determined to get in.

“It's very difficult because we're learning new access points every single day," Manchester Township police Lt. Chris Cerullo told NBC10.

Starting this weekend, Manchester police will use grant money to have officers stationed around and throughout the site to try and keep people from coming in.