The head of an Alabama rescue squad said he doesn’t know that anyone in the state has died from a boat jumping TikTok challenge, despite numerous published reports quoting him as saying otherwise.

Childersburg Rescue Squad Capt. Jim Dennis said statements attributed to him citing four deaths in the past six months were taken out of context during interviews he gave promoting boating safety.

“We’ve had four drownings in the last six to eight months (that the Childersburg Rescue Squad worked) and some of those were just drownings,’’ Dennis said.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency on Monday issued this statement regarding the issue.

“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.”

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.”

In one of the deaths his squad worked, he said, one of the victims did jump from a moving boat. Dennis said he has no idea if it was linked to any TikTok challenge.

A second person also died after having jumped off a boat, but he said there were conflicting statements as to whether the boat was moving or stationary.

“It got blown way out of proportion,’’ 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.”

“From me, on my side, I cannot say because it takes so long to get coroner’s reports back and they to ALEA,’’ he said. “We don’t see coroner’s reports.”

“If we have a drowning, we may know unofficially what it is but to make an official statement, that would have to come from ALEA. Sometimes it’s a year or two before they get the final coroner’s report.”

Dennis is quick to say, however, that boat jumping is dangerous and can definitely be deadly.

“Just from growing up around water, when you’re jumping off boats that are moving at a high rate of speed, things can happen,’’ he said.

“Water is the hardest surface known to man. We cut diamonds and steel with it,’’ he said. “When you’re moving at a high rate of speed and you hit the water wrong, it’s like hitting a brick wall. Your neck is the weakest part and you run the risk of breaking it.”

“There is a TikTok challenge, but I do know jumping off of a moving boat is nothing new,’’ he said.

“As far as TikTok, there’s not a challenge on there that’s any good.”