A 13-year-old boy is missing after getting into difficulty in the sea off the East Yorkshire coast, prompting a large-scale search and rescue operation.
Humberside Police are working to locate the boy, who was swimming in the sea off the South Promenade in Hornsea on Tuesday evening. Officers received reports of a concern for his safety at around 6pm and have since launched an extensive search.
Emergency response
Chief Superintendent Phil Booker said: “After receiving the report, officers were immediately deployed alongside other emergency services and upon attending, it was discovered that a 13-year-old boy had reportedly got into difficulty whilst swimming in the water.”
Specialist Police Search Advisors (POLSA), the Marine Unit, and drone pilots have been deployed to conduct the search. Footage and photographs from the scene show a lifeboat on the sea and an HM Coastguard helicopter circling above.
Appeal for information
Booker urged people to avoid the area where possible to allow emergency services to work efficiently and safely, and to refrain from speculating on the circumstances. He added: “Our inquiries continue to ascertain the full circumstances around the report, and we would ask anyone with any information that may assist us, to please speak to the officers in Hornsea.”
The incident comes after a 14-year-old boy drowned in east London on Monday. The Metropolitan Police said officers were called at about 6.48pm to reports that a boy had entered the Millwall Outer Dock near East Ferry Road on the Isle of Dogs. Despite efforts, the boy was retrieved from the river at 10.30pm and pronounced dead.
Tuesday’s incident in East Yorkshire occurred less than 20 miles from where 15-year-old Grace Keeling was swept out to sea in January. Grace died at Withernsea, along with her mother, Sarah Keeling, 45, and local man Mark Ratcliffe, 67, who went into the water to help her. Her body was found 13 days later.
According to Press Association estimates, at least 39 deaths have been reported this summer from open-water incidents.
