A boy who drowned off the coast of Yorkshire was swept into the sea by a huge rip tide moments after lifeguards had gone off duty, witnesses have claimed.
The family of the boy, who is believed to be from Hull, has been informed after rescue workers found his body in the waters near Hornsea today.
Coastguard, fire crews and police were all scrambled within minutes of him going missing at 6.11pm on Tuesday – just a few minutes after lifeguards clocked off for the day. Three other people are believed to have been rescued.
The RNLI website states that Hornsea Beach is patrolled by lifeguards from 10am until 6pm. Referring to the large flags planted when guards are on duty, it warns: ‘Please remember – No Flags = No Lifeguards’.
The drowned boy was playing happily with friends in the water when he was swept away by a huge rip tide, according to witnesses.
A female witness said: ‘The coastguard came flying down, I remember checking the time because I thought the lifeguards are still here.
‘But it was 11 minutes past six and they knock off at six. The lifeguards had only just left. It was only just after they had clocked off unfortunately.
‘There were people stood on the wall looking. The coastguards had their binoculars out looking. Then the cavalry arrived – helicopters, ambulances, police and all sorts.’
She said she saw three people being rescued, that the sea had been ‘rough’ and the conditions ‘windy’.
‘I don’t think they were from around here because they did not appear to know a lot about sea safety. They were just in the sea because they were very young,’ she added.
‘It a shame because all season the lifeguards have had a sign up warning people of rip tides. They would have been safer if they were on this part of the beach unfortunately. But they could not see the sign from where they were.
‘The emergency services were so quick to respond. They just could not see him or find where he was. It is all it takes – a split second.’
A coastguard helicopter was seen on the beach on Tuesday evening
Police launched a search and rescue operation after the 13-year-old boy went missing in the North Sea
Videos shared to social media at around 7pm last night showed a coastguard helicopter travelling along the beach, and emergency services attending the scene.
Another male eye witness said: ‘They shut down the seafront. There were a load of ambulances and the police came down.
‘The helicopter was going up and down all night. They sent a coastguard plane down later on.
‘The police bought the surviving kids up here eventually. I saw one go away in an ambulance because he was there for quite a while.’
The other two children were taken away in a police car,’ he noted.
‘I did not see any parents. They would probably have come up the Pennine Trail from Hull. It is the closest seaside town to Hull,’ he added.
‘There is always groups of kids from Hull on their bike. It is a relatively safe journey because you have just got the [Hornsea Rail] Trail.’
The extensive search operation involved specialist Humberside search officers including marine divers and drone pilots, alongside the local coastguard, ambulance service and fire and rescue service.
Chief Superintendent Phil Booker of Humberside Police said it was an ‘incredibly heartbreaking outcome’ to the operation.
‘Our thoughts are with the boy’s family and friends at this devastating time,’ he said.
‘Tragically, at around 4.30am this morning, a body was recovered from the water.
‘His death is not being treated as suspicious, and a file will now be prepared for the Coroner.
‘We know the sadness and concern this will cause in the community, and we would ask that the family’s privacy is respected during this incredibly difficult time.
‘I would like to thank all of the emergency services involved in the search, along with members of the public for their support and cooperation.’
It comes after a 14-year-old boy drowned after going into the water in east London on Monday.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were called at about 6.48pm to reports that a boy had entered the Millwall Outer Dock near East Ferry Road on the Isle of Dogs.
The force said despite the efforts of emergency services, the boy was retrieved from the river at 10.30pm and pronounced dead.
Tuesday’s incident in East Yorkshire also occurred less than 20 miles away from where 15-year-old Grace Keeling was swept out to sea in January.
Grace died in the sea at Withernsea, along with her mother, Sarah Keeling, 45, and local man Mark Ratcliffe, 67, who went into the water to help her on the afternoon of January 2 and immediately got into difficulties themselves, an inquest heard in May.
The search for Grace’s body took 13 days and it was eventually found trapped among giant boulders used for sea defences to the south of where the incident happened.
At least 39 deaths have been reported this summer linked with open-water incidents, according to the PA news agency.
The National Water Safety Forum reported there were 202 water-related fatalities across the whole of last year in the UK. Data for this year is expected next May.
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