Cornwall beach tragedy: Man 'may have died after trying to help surfers in rip current'

Three adults died after getting into difficulties off Mawgan Porth beach

Police and coastguards at Mawgan Porth beach near Newquay, Cornwall (PA)

One of the people who died after getting caught in a rip current in Cornwall may have been trying to save other struggling surfers, it has emerged.

The three surfers who died, who have not been named, were a 52-year-old man from Leeds, a 44-year-old man from St Austell and a 42-year-old woman also from St Austell.

Four teenage boys, two aged 18, one 16 and one 15, survived the disaster off Mawgan Porth beach, near Newquay.

The RNLI said early reports suggested one of the casualties had gone into the sea after seeing the group was in difficulty.

Steve Instance, lifeguard manager for the South West, told the BBC: “There was a group of people who were surfing. From the reports we have, one of the people who drowned may have gone in to try to help the others.

“We believe that two of the casualties are local, in their 40s, and the third is a gentleman in his 50s from outside the area.

“We believe that the group of children may have been the first to get into difficulty.”

An off-duty lifeguard was among the onlookers who tried to help the group as the tragedy unfolded shortly after 1pm on Sunday.

Brendon Prince, a lifeguard from Torbay in Devon, told the BBC he believed the man had been in the water with his son and his wife had been on the beach.

“We ran to the first person and dragged them out of the water with one or two other people helping,” he said.

“The gentleman was a 52-year-old male. Obviously, we sent for a defibrillator and paramedics as soon as we could.

“We then did CPR on the male for 20 minutes before the emergency services arrived.”

Newquay and Padstow Coastguard Rescue Teams, RNLI lifeboats from Newquay and Padstow and the rescue helicopter from RNAS Culdrose joined the search operation after the alarm was raised.

The three casualties, who were unconscious, were airlifted to the Royal Cornwall Hospital but later died.

The teenage boys made it to shore themselves and were taken to hospital as a precaution but did not need treatment.

The RNLI will review the lifeguard policy at the beach, which was not being monitored at the time of the accident.

Lifeguards are on duty at Mawgan Porth beach from March to September, the RNLI confirmed, but there are “clear signs” at the beach indicating the lack of cover for beachgoers.

A spokesperson for the RNLI said lifeboats are “on call 24/7” and can launch within 10 minutes all year round.

“That risk assessment is decided by taking into account the number of users, the type of users, the topography of the area - how the waves fall there - and the proximity of other rescue services,” she added.

Mawgan Porth beach is popular with tourists and locals (Rex)

"Every season an assessment is carried out to see what lifeguards there should be on every beach. I am sure we will take into account visitor numbers at Mawgan Porth during half-term and, once we know what happened, it will form part of the review into whether we need to extend lifeguard cover there."

James Millidge, the RNLI's coastal safety manager in the South West, said there were a number of beaches in the region which did have lifeguard cover in autumn and winter and recommended people always visit a guarded beach.

Lifeboat operations manager Gareth Horner described conditions at the beach as "dangerous".

"Conditions (there) are not really very good for surfing and bodyboarding," he told ITV News. "Mawgan Porth is a dangerous beach."

A rip current, sometimes referred to as a rip tide, is a strong narrow current that can drag people away from the shoreline and out into deeper water.

Mawgan Porth beach is a popular beauty spot with locals and tourists, who flock there in the school holidays for the large expanse of sand backed by picturesque cliffs.

Additional reporting by PA