Three Die In Tragedy At Camber Sands In Sussex

Three people have died today at a popular beach in East Sussex.

Emergency teams were called to reports that the victims needed urgent medical aid at Camber Sands, near Rye.

Later in the afternoon, a fourth person was pulled from the water.

Police have confirmed that three of those pulled from the sea had died.

The tragedy happened as the beach was packed with people.

There were reports that the three had encountered a swarm of jellyfish but sources at Rye Harbour RNLI said this was highly unlikely.

"Stings from jellyfish we get around here are milder than nettle stings," the source told Sky News.

"This was more likely to do with sand banks and tidal currents," the source added.

One witness, Natalja Taylor, 30, who was on a day-trip with her husband, said police were driving up the beach with a loudhailer urging people to stay out of the sea.

She told the Press Association: "We were sat on a hill a bit further away and we saw three people being pulled out of the water.

"I think the people who rescued them were regular people, not emergency personnel.

"We don't know what condition they were in. There were so many people there. They were still on the beach when we left.

"Police drove on to the beach with a loudspeaker, telling people not to go into the water until further notice.

"They also taped off a huge chunk of the beach so no-one could get near it."

The alarm was first raised at about 2.15pm, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said.

Search-and-rescue helicopters were also scrambled to the scene, along with an air ambulance, as well as lifeboats.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "One man was rescued at around 2.10pm and at around 2.20pm another person was seen in the water and was also rescued. A third person was rescued at 2.35pm.

"The three men, who have not yet been identified, sadly died despite efforts to save them."

An hour later, police said a fourth person was taken from the sea. That person's condition is not known.

It is the second serious incident to take place recently at Camber Sands.

Last month, Brazilian Gustavo Silva Da Cruz, 19, died after getting into difficulty while swimming in the sea there.

The rescue came as it was announced that a two-year-old girl who was swept into the sea at Newquay with her father last week has died.

McKayla Bruynius died at Bristol Children's Hospital on Tuesday night.

She and her father were knocked into the sea by a large wave amid strong winds at Fistral Beach last Friday.

Her father Rudy, aged 33, died that day. Five other people were killed in tragedies around the British coast within a 24-hour period.