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Two children dead after ‘major incident’ on Bournemouth beach as man arrested
A 12-year-old girl and a 17-year-old-boy have died following a major incident on a UK beach, police confirmed.
Several children were pulled from the sea in Bournemouth on Wednesday (May 31) afternoon in a huge “multi-agency operation” on the busy beach. Two were rushed to hospital by air ambulances following the “major incident” – which is believed a group of children, as young as 12, were dragged out to sea by a riptide.
A man in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the deaths, reports The Mirror. Witnesses reported seeing three children being carried out of sea just after 4.30pm, and another said at least one child received CPR on the sand.
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Another witness said “six children” got into difficulty in sea, raising concerns that three other children were still missing in the water. However, the Coastguard service says it is “satisfied” there are no further victims still in the sea.
Dorset Police has now confirmed that two children, a 17-year-old-boy and 12-year-old girl, have died following the tragic incident. Their identities have not yet been disclosed by the force.
A spokesman for the force said: “Detectives have launched an investigation into the death of two people following an incident in the water in Bournemouth. Dorset Police received a report at 4.32pm on Wednesday 31 May 2023 from the ambulance service requesting assistance on the beach off Bournemouth Pier.”
Dorset police confirmed ten people were recovered from the water – the other eight were treated by the ambulance service for injuries that are not life-threatening.
One witness, who was on a day out with her family, said paramedics treated one person on the sand, and then another victims around 10 minutes later. Steve Larcombe, who works on Bournemouth Pier for a boat trip company, said: “There were six children involved, the police said four were walking and two cardiac arrests. I just hope the children are okay.”
Mr Larcombe added that he wasn’t sure if the youngsters had been jumping off the Victorian pier or were swimming under it at the time 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. There was another one floating in the water.
“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.”
She added: “One lifeguard went to rescue two swimmers struggling but he couldn’t bring them in. He spotted another person struggling and a second lifeguard went out to them but there were multiple people in trouble.
“The remaining lifeguard was trying to get everyone out of the water. The ambulance service came to the struggling person rescued by the second lifeguard. More lifeguards arrived to rescue another swimmer near the pier.
“My husband spotted another swimmer struggling and dragged across parallel to the beach. He ran to the lifeguards. The guard immediately went in and they picked him up on a jet ski. I will never ever get the image out of my head of him being brought out.
“They cleared the beach for air ambulance. Then another was spotted and again brought to shore to be worked on. Absolutely horrible.
“Loads of idiots ignoring lifeguard requests to get out of the water and clear the beach. People were running towards those having CPR filming on their phones.”
The Mail reports that one eyewitness, Paul Moyce, 61, said he thought 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.”
Nicola Holton was on the beach with her husband at the time. She said the sea became dangerous very quickly with “multiple” people needing help.
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.”
The man arrested was in the water at the time, police said. The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident will see Dorset Police work alongside the Marine Accident Investigation Branch and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in accordance with established protocols.
A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) had said: “We were called at 16:07 on Wednesday 31 May to a sea incident in Bournemouth. 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.
“We conveyed two patients to Royal Bournemouth Hospital and Poole Hospital.”
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