Police issue update as mystery deepens on beach tragedy that killed two children
Police have issued an update as the mystery deepens over a beach tragedy which killed two children.
Detectives have launched an investigation after a 17-year-old boy and girl, 12, died at Bournemouth beach yesterday afternoon.
The pair were among 10 people - all believed to be children - who were rescued from the water near the site's Victorian pier.
A man in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
Following speculation the casualties had been struck by a jet ski or boat, Dorset Police have today confirmed otherwise.
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In a statement, the force said this morning: "We continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the tragic incident that occurred yesterday resulting in the deaths of a 12-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy.
A lifeboat near the beach (Max Willcock/BNPS)"We are working with partner agencies to understand what has caused the tragedy.
"However, early investigation indicates that there was no physical contact between a vessel and any swimmers at the time of the incident. We are investigating the circumstances that caused a number of swimmers to get into difficulty.
"Further information will be released as the investigation progresses."
It's still not clear whether the children were hit by a wash caused by a boat or jet ski, however, rather than being physically struck.
Witnesses described seeing lifeguards pulling people from the water as the beach was evacuated.
A police cordon remains in place.
Flowers left at the scene of Wednesday's tragedy (Max Willcock/BNPS)Air ambulances were among the emergency crews scrambled to the scene at around 4.30pm, and landed on the sand.
Some beachgoers are said to have ignored warnings to keep back in order to film rescuers administering CPR.
Most were treated by paramedics and their injuries were not considered life-threatening.
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A mum has described how witnesses saw a boy "floating in the water" amid the horror.
Ritta Saruchera, said her daughter and her friend were in the sea at the time when they saw what happened.
Police have arrested a man on suspicion of manslaughter (Max Willcock/BNPS)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."
Nicola Holton, 43, and Stuart Clark, 42, were on the beach with their two children when the tragedy unfolded.
They said the summertime scene turned into something from "a horror film".
Mr Clark said: "As we walked to the east side of the pier there was at least one but probably a few jet skiers going across the right side of the pier.
A floral tribute on the beach this morning (SplashNews.com)"We didn't take too much notice of them at the time.
"There were announcements throughout the afternoon telling people not to climb on the pier. After 2pm it seemed like people weren't going near it.
"The next announcement we got was at 4pm about a dangerous riptide in the water and it wasn't soon after that we saw a couple of swimmers in trouble out to sea.
"It got really chaotic when they brought a young man back to shore on a lifeguard jet ski. It was obvious he wasn't alive. That's when people started gathering around and the lifeguards were trying to clear the beach at the same time as helping the others in the water.
Police remain at the scene (Max Willcock/BNPS)"We saw the young girl get brought out too and there were no obvious injuries on her either. I just wanted to get my family off the beach with our belongings."
Miss Holton said: "It was like a scene from a horror film. After an afternoon of lovely weather and the odd announcement to tell kids to stop climbing on the pier it looked like it had all settled down.
"When we first spotted the swimmers in distress they were far out to the east side of the pier.
"A lifeguard ran into the water with a surfboard and it seemed to take ages for him to get to them. There was an announcement to get out of the water and then the lifeguards started bringing people back to shore.
There is much speculation about what happened (Max Willcock/BNPS)"A few were taken to the lifeguard tent and then we saw the young man and girl brought out. We were packing up our things to leave as quickly as we could. It was just awful.
"There were 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 Coastguard has since confirmed it is "satisfied" no further victims were unaccounted for.
Police are yet to release the identities of the two people who died.
Two air ambulances landed on the beach (Max Willcock/BNPS)Steve Larcombe, who works on Bournemouth Pier for a boat trip company, said he wasn't sure if the youngsters were jumping off the Victorian pier or swimming under it.
Another eyewitness, Paul Moyce, said he also thought those involved had been jumping into the sea off the pier.
Ms Saruchera went on to say: "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 beach was evacuated (DorsetLive/BPM)"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.
The beach was packed with revellers during the incident (Max Willcock/BNPS)"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."
Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Corrigan, of Dorset Police, said yesterday: "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.
Several land ambulances were also dispatched (Max Willcock/BNPS)"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 on the water at the time, police said.
Police officers walk along Bournemouth beach front (PA)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 two air ambulances, as well as six land ambulances were among the emergency crews at the scene.
“We conveyed two patients to Royal Bournemouth Hospital and Poole Hospital," they added.
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