Call for lifeguards after five deaths on popular British beach
A popular Sussex beach was cleared yesterday after five deaths in the water.
Three men were pulled from the water at Camber Sands yesterday afternoon and two more bodies were found on the beach as the tide receded last night.
It is believed they were all together on a day trip from Greater London and were in their late teens and early 20s.
On what was the hottest day of the year, hundreds of holidaymakers looked on as emergency services dealt with the incident.
The beach was cleared and bathers were asked to leave the water, initially spreading fears that jellyfish were responsible.
Speculation later emerged on social media and in the press that the men were immigrants trying to get to Britain from France, but Sussex police said there was nothing to suggest the men were immigrants and dismissed reports that some of the men were fully clothed.
Emergency services were first called to the beach yesterday at 2.10pm after reports of a person in the sea.
While they were on scene another person was seen in difficulty at 2.20pm and 15 minutes later a third person was rescued.
The three men sadly died despite efforts to save them, said police.
Chief Superintendent Di Roskilly said: "We believe we now know who the men are and that they came to the beach together for the day. We believe they are all in their late teens and early 20s and come from the Greater London area. These men were not fully clothed when they were pulled from the sea but wearing clothes appropriate for being at the beach for the day.
"We have no further reports of anyone else missing from Camber and there are no on-going searches related to this incident.
"This has been an incredibly tragic incident and we are offering their next of kin support at this difficult time and our thoughts are with them."
Thousands of people have already signed a petition calling for lifeguards to be introduced at the beach, where another man, aged 19, died last month after getting into difficulty swimming.
One man who signed the petition wrote: "I was on the beach today when 5 people drowned, perhaps they would still be alive. 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!"
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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