Three people from the same family, including a man, a woman and a teenage girl, have died after getting into trouble in the water off Shoreham-by-Sea. A younger girl from the same family is in a critical condition in hospital, Sussex Police said.
Emergency response
Coastguard helicopters, ambulances and police were scrambled to the coastal town in West Sussex following reports that four people were in trouble in the water. The RNLI said lifeboat crews were launched from Shoreham at about 2.50pm on Tuesday afternoon. Two other lifeboats were also launched from the Brighton lifeboat station shortly after 3pm.
Chief Superintendent James Collis said all four people entered the water from land for a swim and got into difficulty. The coastguard is not searching for anyone else.
Statements from authorities
Sussex Police issued a statement saying emergency services were responding to reports of "four people in difficulty" in the water close to Shoreham Fort. The statement read: "Emergency services are currently responding to reports of four people in difficulty in the water close to Shoreham Fort. A section of the A259 in Shoreham has been closed as the incident remains ongoing, and we’re urging the public to stay clear of the area in the meantime. We will provide more information as soon as we are able to."
South East Coast Ambulance Service said it responded to "reports of four people in need of medical attention" and that the people were understood to have got "into difficulty in the water near Shoreham Harbour". A spokesperson added: "We were called shortly after 15:00 BST and have a number of ambulance resources at the scene."
Witness accounts
A resident described seeing a massive emergency response on a beach which they claimed was "safe". "I first heard the helicopters go past my home on the seafront. This was quickly followed by sirens, it is the most emergency services I have ever seen in my life," they told the Express. "I saw Coastguard crews turn up, police, ambulance and critical incident units. Police were quick to cordon the road. There has been nothing like this happen on the beach before in the whole 25 years I have lived in the town. It's a safe beach with an RNLI station and a watch tower."
Shelley Ayres, who lives opposite the beach, said: "We have never known this. I'm just hoping it's nothing tragic. The sea has been very calm for months and months, but today it has got a lot rougher."
Tom Rutland, the Labour MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, said it was an "extremely worrying" incident. He wrote on X: "I am deeply concerned by the reports of a number of people getting into difficulty in the water near Shoreham Harbour this afternoon. My thoughts are with everyone involved and their loved ones at what will undoubtedly be an extremely worrying time."
The A259 Brighton Road was blocked in both directions from New Road to Kingston Lane because of the incident. Many emergency service vehicles have left the scene but the road remains closed.
