Authorities have ceased the search for a third individual who went missing after a teenage girl was swept away off the coast of the UK, as confirmed by officials.
Tragedy struck on the beach at Withernsea, East Yorkshire, claiming the lives of two individuals. The incident occurred on the Central Promenade area, prompting a response from Humberside Police at 3:15 pm last Friday.
The search efforts for the missing person continued until late the previous day and resumed at 6:30 am this morning. However, HM Coastguard has now announced the suspension of the search as of 4 pm today. One individual, aged 67, was found unconscious in the water and pronounced dead at the scene. The body of a second person was recovered on Friday evening.
Local residents, including staff from the Castle Cafe on the promenade, made efforts to assist the girl. Paul Whitehead, the cafe owner, recounted their attempts to throw a life ring to her to the Telegraph.
According to Whitehead, a girl of approximately 15 years old descended the Pier Towers concrete steps around 3 pm, and due to the rough seas, she was swept away. Her parents and a cafe staff member tried to aid her, with the staff member grabbing a life ring. The girl briefly held onto the ring but was struck by a wave, causing her to lose her grip and submerge.
Witnesses observed a woman running along the seafront shouting, “she’s in the water, she’s in the water,” before a figure was seen in the waves.
Karen Higgs, 66, shared her account, stating, “Someone threw a safety ring for her to catch. She was being carried out by the water as the ring was thrown, but she did not attempt to catch it despite our calls to do so.”
Emergency services were alerted, initiating a large-scale response that included a rescue helicopter, coastguard rescue teams from Withernsea, Hornsea, and Hull, an RNLI inshore lifeboat from Withernsea, an all-weather lifeboat from Bridlington, and the Hornsea Inshore Rescue team.
In a statement on their Facebook page on Friday, the Hornsea Inshore Rescue team mentioned being dispatched to Withernsea but faced challenges launching the lifeboat due to severe conditions and three-meter waves.
A recent update from the Coastguard at 4 pm confirmed, “Following shoreline searches in Withernsea for a missing person today, 3 January, HM Coastguard has concluded its extensive search operation this afternoon.”
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