Sea off Shoreham Claims Lives of Three Family Members
Emergency services were called to Kingston Beach after fishermen reported four people in distress, leaving the local community shaken by a major tragedy.
Emergency services were called to Kingston Beach after fishermen reported four people in distress, leaving the local community shaken by a major tragedy.
Three members of the same family have died in the sea off Shoreham in Sussex, England, while a fourth person, a young girl, has been taken to hospital in critical condition, Sussex Police has confirmed. Among the deceased are a man, a woman, and a teenage girl, while the young girl from the same family is fighting for her life. Police have stated that all were foreign nationals.
Emergency services were called to Kingston Beach at around 3 PM local time after fishermen reported seeing four people struggling to stay above water. According to BBC News, the report came in shortly after 3 PM BST on Tuesday, regarding people in distress in the sea near Shoreham Port. All four family members were brought to shore.
The UK's Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) said its crews launched at around 2:50 PM, with two more lifeboats from Brighton station deployed shortly after 3 PM. The Coastguard responded to the report at around 2:45 PM, and numerous ambulance crews and air ambulance helicopters arrived at the scene.
The Coastguard confirmed the scale of the operation: "A HM Coastguard helicopter was sent, along with coastguard rescue teams from Littlehampton, Shoreham, and Newhaven, and an RNLI lifeboat from Shoreham." A spokesperson for the charity Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex said both of their helicopters and a critical care team were dispatched. The South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) reported being called due to "reports of four people requiring medical assistance."
Chief Superintendent James Collis of Sussex Police said relatives have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers. "At this time, we believe all four people entered the water from the shore for a swim and unfortunately got into difficulty," he said. He added that the Coastguard had completed an extensive search of the water and was not looking for anyone else. The incident, he said, has deeply affected the local community, and an investigation into the circumstances is ongoing.
Gary and Victoria Flint were spending the day on the beach with their children when the tragedy occurred. Victoria, from Horsham, said they arrived at the beach around 3 PM. "Shortly after, we heard the lifeboat siren. We watched it launch, and about 20 minutes later it returned," she said. "Emergency vehicles started arriving, more and more of them, and then air ambulance helicopters came."
Resident Shirley Pumfrey described the scene as unprecedented: "I've never seen them do that. The whole road was full of emergency services. It was awful and quite frightening to see so many of them." Steve Chapman, who lives opposite the beach, couldn't get into his street because it was cordoned off. "There were all sorts of rumors going around; it was very distressing," he said. Shelley Ayres, who also lives opposite the beach, noticed a change in the sea: "The sea has been very calm for months and months, but today it became much rougher."
Part of the A259, the main road running through Brighton, Shoreham, and Worthing, was closed due to the response. BBC reporter Callum French described the emergency services' response as "the biggest response I've seen," adding that despite the warm weather, the sea was "quite choppy" due to strong winds. Tom Rutland, MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, had earlier urged people to stay away from the area, and after the news of the deaths, he expressed his condolences to the family. "I know the whole community here in Shoreham will be hoping and praying for the recovery of the young girl receiving medical care in hospital," he said. Shoreham Port stated it is cooperating with multiple agencies and also urged the public to avoid the area.
