A 12-year-old girl and teenage boy, 17, have been pronounced dead after a major incident which saw ten people recovered from the sea took place at Bournemouth beach.
A man in his 40s who had been on the water at the time of the incident has since been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, Dorset Police said.
Lifeguards on the busy beach rushed into the water by Bournemouth Pier after people got into difficulty in the sea around 4.30pm.
Emergency services were quickly at the scene with the teenage boy and girl being rushed to hospital after sustaining critical injuries. Tragically they both died later in hospital, with their families being informed.
At the time of the horrific the beach was full of thousands of people soaking up the sun during half term for children up and down the country.
A 12-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy have died after a major incident took place in the water on Bournemouth beach
One of the men was pulled from the water and had to be given CPR on the beach by lifeguards before being taken away by air ambulance
The other eight people were treated by the ambulance service at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries.
An investigation has now been launched into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Corrigan, of Dorset Police, said: ‘Our thoughts are with the loved ones of the young people who tragically died and we are doing all we can to support their families.
‘I understand the beach was very busy at the time of the incident and I would ask anyone with information that may assist our enquiries to please come forward.
‘We are at the early stages of our investigation and would ask people not to speculate about the circumstances surrounding the incident.’
Anyone with information about what happened should contact Dorset Police on www.dorset.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55230083818.
Alternatively, witnesses can contact independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling Freephone 0800 555 111.
The operation involved multiple agencies
The beach had to be cleared before the ambulance was able to land
It is believed that all of those involved were aged between 12 and 18-years-old.
Paul Moyce, 61, said he believed those involved had been jumping into the sea off the pier.
He said: ‘I think they went off the end of the pier and went out too far. They must have got caught by the current. I lived here for 61 years and I’ve never seen anything like it.’
Thousands of people were on the Dorset beach at the time, soaking up the sun and playing in the water in the 23C heat during the May half term holiday.
South Western Ambulance Service told MailOnline that they had ‘conveyed two patients to Royal Bournemouth Hospital and Poole Hospital’.
Thousands of people had been soaking up the sun and playing in the water in the 23C heat during the May half term holiday.
Beachgoer Ritta Saruchera said her daughter and her friend were in the sea at the time when they saw what happened.
She said: ‘They were coming back out of the water when they saw a teenage boy struggling.
‘We went to get help from the lifeguard and inform them of what was happening. There were three young men out there and they have been searching for a fourth.’
Thousands of people were enjoying the weather before being asked to clear the beach by police
Two people were taken to Royal Bournemouth Hospital and Poole Hospital
A Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service spokesperson said earlier today: ‘We were called to East Beach, Bournemouth at 4.39pm to support a multi-agency incident.
‘We have crews in attendance from Westbourne and Springbourne, together with a technical rescue team from Poole.’
A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said earlier today: ‘We sent x2 air ambulances, x6 double-crewed land ambulances, x1 critical care car, x2 operations officers, x1 doctor, x1 hazardous area response team and x1 responding officer.
HM Coastguard told MailOnline that ‘two people had been pulled from the water and passed into the care of the ambulance service’ and that ‘coastguards searched to make sure there were no other people missing and are satisfied there are not.
Bus routes that would normally serve the Pier stops were diverted through the square.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk