People who tried to rescue a family who got into difficulty at West Mersea beach in Essex were forced to stop others from recording the incident, it has been claimed.
Fatal incident at Seaview Avenue
A mother and her teenage daughter died following the incident near Seaview Avenue, West Mersea, on Wednesday. Essex Police said officers were called by the ambulance service at 5.35pm after reports that several people had got into difficulty in the water.
A third person - believed to be a seven-year-old boy - remains in hospital in a serious condition. Two other people are in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Those involved are understood to be family members.
Teenage rescuers
Three teenagers who work at the Seaview Beach Diner were among the first on the scene after hearing a commotion outside, and raced to try and save those in the water. One of the teenagers, Leonie Powling, 19, told the Mirror: "We had someone run to the cafe saying they needed help, so we all stopped what we were doing and ran to the beach."
"We saw some people on the beach, and there were still some casualties in the water. We started running around, trying to find anyone with a kayak or a paddleboard. We couldn't just run into the water because there was a riptide, and everyone would've just been sucked in."
"We were sat with a casualty making sure she was okay. There was another casualty we got out of the water, who was struggling to breathe at that point. One of the workers went up to her, patted her on the back and said: 'You need to make yourself throw up.'"
"We got some people out, safe and okay. One is in serious condition, but will hopefully get better. With the other two, we're just thinking about the family. It's heartbreaking."
Stopping bystanders from filming
Leonie's father Carl Powling, 55, Colchester City councillor for Mersea & Pyefleet Ward, said the teen heroes were forced to stop people recording the horrific incident on their phones. He said: "The actions of the girls is actually really admirable. From the onset of the incident, where the members of public called the ambulance, emergency services, the people that went in to help try and pull people out. The fact that the three girls went out to assist."
"One of them was on the phone directing the police exactly where to come, you know, directions down to Mersea. Then the way they tried to move people back, the crowds back, the level-headedness and calmness of them, is, is actually for their age group is phenomenal. They saw everything that was going on."
"They were stopping people trying to film it, keep people away. Then the RNLI, the coastguard, everyone arrived, emergency services and them. But what they did it, it's admirable for the local teenagers here to be fair."
