5 men drown off British beach without lifeguard

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said that the Lydd and Lee-on-Solent-based UK Coastguard search-and-rescue helicopters were scrambled to the scene, along with an air ambulance.

Three of the young men who died on an idyllic beach in East Sussex have been named after the “unexplained” drowning of they and their two companions.

While on the scene, a second call was made at 2.20pm, and fifteen minute later a third report of a person at sea was made.

Sussex Police have said it was not yet known who the men were or if they knew one another.

Hannah Chatfield helped drag one of the men out of the water after the alarm was raised while she was on the beach with her family.

More people have started visiting who may not be familiar with the area, they added.

It’s too early in the investigation for us to comment on what happened, but we can point people towards our general water safety advice, particularly ahead of the bank holiday weekend. At this stage we are doing all we can to establish who the men are and to identify next of kin. The two others, who were not connected to him, included a man aged 35 and his 17-year-old son.

An RNLI lifeboat from Rye and Coastguard rescue teams are also there.

Dr Thomas Waite, from the extreme events team at PHE, said: “Many people will likely be out and about again today enjoying more the summer sun”.

Formal identification has not taken place but police believe the men were in their early teens and late 20s. “We had kids here and we were anxious about them”.

He said he could not understand why the men had run into difficulties as the sea appeared calm to him.

“We provide beach patrols who are on site throughout the summer and are able to advise people of the dangers of the sea, reunite lost children and deal with any incidents on the beach, including performing first aid”.

Three people were being treated on a popular beach after being pulled from the sea on one of the hottest days of the year. “The sea is so shallow there”.

“That unfortunately across the United Kingdom can sometimes lead to what we call patchy provision of lifeguarding: in some areas you can have one beach and another beach that looks quite similar but you may have one lifeguarded and the other not”.

I cannot believe that Bottany Bay (a tiny beach around the corner) can have lifeguards but this beach with 25,000 people on it doesn’t have any!

She and her father were knocked into the sea by a large wave amid strong winds at Fistral Beach last Friday.

The family were feeling “very angry” that the stretch of beach had not been blocked off after a man died at Camber Sands last month, his sister said.