Three Dead In Sea Tragedy: Man's Rescue Bid

An off-duty lifeguard has told Sky News how he tried to save a man's life during a sea tragedy in Cornwall that left three surfers dead.

The victims, along with four youngsters, had got into difficulty after they were reportedly caught up in a rip current off Mawgan Porth beach, Newquay, on Sunday.

Brendan Prince, who is a trained lifeguard nearby in Torbay, said he and a friend dragged the man out of the water.

He then performed CPR on him and until a rescue helicopter arrived around 15 minutes later.

The three victims had been found unconscious in the sea. They were taken to Treliske hospital but were later pronounced dead.

One has been named locally as Stuart Calder, a 52-year-old orthopaedic surgeon from Leeds.

The others were believed to be a man aged 44 and a 42-year-old woman, both from St Austell.

The youngsters were all boys. Two are aged 18 while the others were 16 and 15. They were all found safe on shore but were taken to hospital as a precaution.

Sea rescue services said a risk assessment will be carried out to determine whether lifeguard cover should be extended at the beach.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) said lifeguards man Mawgan Porth beach from March to September and confirmed none were patrolling there on Sunday.

But it explained there would have been "clear signs" indicating the lack of lifeguard cover for beachgoers.

Mr Prince told Sky News: "It was obvious it wasn't a good surfer day. It was too messy, foamy.

"A lady came over and said 'could you lend a hand, there's something going on at the other end of the beach'.

"My friend and I responded fairly quickly. We saw that two people were in the water face down trying to be assisted and there were two others trying to get in.

"I grabbed one who was waist deep in water and others grabbed the lady who was behind. I started CPR on the man and a doctor came along and started CPR on the lady."

He added: "The two boys came in of their own accord and were clearly distressed by the situation."

He went on: "Beaches are changeable. At low tide on Sunday the conditions are a certain type. When the water starts to come in it acts as a bay and those conditions change.

"They were over the right hand side where if there's going to be a rip it's going to be dragging that way.

"They were probably playing in a bit of up to the waist surf but in the conditions it can suddenly be 6ft as opposed to what you think is 3ft."

Gareth Horner, lifeboat operations manager, said: "Mawgan Porth is a dangerous beach. We don't know the exact circumstances or the ability of the people that were rescued today.

"My understanding is that they were in two groups and that one of the casualties actually entered the sea to assist other people who were in trouble."