Bournemouth beach cops issue update as mystery deepens over kids' deaths
Police say there is "no suggestion" anybody jumped off the pier prior to the tragic deaths of two children in the sea off Bournemouth beach yesterday.
A man in his 40s who was 'on the water' at the time has been arrested for the manslaughter of the 12-year-old girl, from Buckinghamshire, and 17-year-old boy, from Southampton.
The two victims suffered 'critical' injuries in the incident that happened next to Bournemouth Pier on one of the hottest days of the year.
During a lunchtime press briefing today, assistant chief constable Rachel Farrell also confirmed the victims were not related and not known to each other.
She said she could only give a limited amount of information with the case active but said she was keen to avoid further speculation.
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"It is clear that yesterday, a number of people already in the water got into difficulty and we are investigating the circumstances or event that caused that to happen.
Assistant chief constable Rachel Farrell during the press briefing (PA)"Early investigation indicates that there was no physical contact between a vessel and any other swimmers at the time of the incident.
"I can also confirm there is no suggestion of people jumping from the pier or jet skis being involved."
A large group of teenagers had been tombstoning off the Victorian pier into the water at the time while others were swimming under it.
According to one witness, several jet skis were on the water close by at the time.
RNLI lifeguards rushed into the sea to rescue eight other children who were at risk of being swept away by a sudden and strong undercurrent.
An 18-year-old swimmer spotted the 12-year-old girl floating in the sea and helped recover her to the beach where she was given CPR.
Six ambulances were dispatched to the scene (Max Willcock/BNPS)The lifeless body of the 17-year-old boy was then spotted washed up close to the shoreline and lifeguards and an ambulance crew attempted to save him.
They were both airlifted to hospital where they were later pronounced dead.
According to witnesses there were no obvious injuries on either victim and police have confirmed that there was no physical contact between them and any water craft.
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But police have launched a criminal investigation into the deaths and are continuing to question the arrested man for manslaughter.
Nicola Holton, 43, and Stuart Clark, 42, were on the beach with their two children when the tragedy unfolded shortly after 4pm yesterday.
They said the summertime scene turned into something from 'a horror film.'
An air ambulance on the beach (Max Willcock/BNPS)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.
"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.
A cordon was put in place yesterday afternoon (DorsetLive/BPM)"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.
"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 lifeboat near the beach (Max Willcock/BNPS)"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.
"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 first person to reach the girl who died was an 18-year-old boy.
A second air ambulance takes off from the beach (Max Willcock/BNPS)His father, Rob Creech, said today: "My son was on the other side of the pier swimming with a few friends.
"All of a sudden there were a lot of people on the pier shouting and screaming that there was somebody in the water. He swam to the other side of the pier and he found a young girl floating face down in the water.
"The emergency services were just arriving at the beach so he was shouting to them and scooped her up to swim to shore. He managed to get her out onto the beach and the emergency services took it from there."
There has been an ongoing issue between jetskiers and water users around the area of the pier.
Families enjoying the hot temperatures at the beach (Max Willcock/BNPS)There are yellow marker buoys 200m off the beach and water craft operating inside that area are restricted to speeds of 6 knots.
One local surfer said he witnessed three jetskiers 'buzzing the pier' close to the line on Tuesday, the day before the tragic incident.
Lawrence Hopgood said: "I was surfing the night before There were 3 jetskiers buzzing the pier and getting close to the line. A lifeguard went out on a jetski and spoke to them, then left.
"The jetskiers didn't leave but proceeded to do donuts near the surfers, whilst filming themselves."
Police officers walk along Bournemouth beach front (PA)A spokesperson for Dorset police said: "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.
"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."
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."
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