A teenage girl and a woman in her 40s have died after getting into difficulty in the water at West Mersea beach in Essex. Police confirmed the deaths following a major emergency response on Wednesday evening.
Emergency response
Essex Police were called by the ambulance service at 5.35pm on Wednesday 22 July after reports that several people had got into difficulty in the water near Seaview Avenue. The West Mersea Coastguard Rescue Team attended the scene, and the RNLI launched its West Mersea and Clacton lifeboats.
A third person remains in hospital in a serious condition. Police believe the individuals involved were known to one another.
Appeal for information
Detective Chief Inspector Al Pitcher said: "Today, our thoughts remain with the family members who are coming to terms with their loss. We are grateful to the people who have already spoken to us and helped with our enquiries. We would ask anyone who was at the beach at the time, and who has not yet spoken with officers, to please get in touch, to help us understand what happened."
Floral tributes have been left at the beach on Thursday morning. Anyone with information or footage is urged to call 101 and quote incident 1090.
