A 17-year-old-boy and a 12-year-old girl have died following an incident in the water at Bournemouth beach.
Ten people, all thought to be children, were pulled from the sea in a "major incident" on Wednesday, May 31. Two air ambulances, six ambulances, a critical care team and police were among the emergency services who attended at around 4.30pm.
Both the teenage boy and the girl were taken to hospital but were pronounced dead a short time later. The other eight people were treated by the ambulance service for injuries that are not thought to be life-threatening.
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Dorset Police has confirmed that an investigation into the two deaths has been launched. A man in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the deaths.
Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Corrigan, of Dorset Police, said: "Our thoughts are with the loved ones of the young people who tragically died and we are doing all we can to support their families. I understand the beach was very busy at the time of the incident and I would ask anyone with information that may assist our enquiries to please come forward.
"We are at the early stages of our investigation and would ask people not to speculate about the circumstances surrounding the incident."
The Mirror reports that a beachgoer , Ritta Saruchera, said her daughter and her friend were in the sea at the time when they saw what happened. She said: "They were coming back out of the water when they saw a teenage boy struggling. There was another one floating in the water.
"We went to get help from the lifeguard and inform them of what was happening. There were three young men out there and they have been searching for a fourth."
She added: "One lifeguard went to rescue two swimmers struggling but he couldn't bring them in. He spotted another person struggling and a second lifeguard went out to them but there were multiple people in trouble.
"The remaining lifeguard was trying to get everyone out of the water. The ambulance service came to the struggling person rescued by the second lifeguard."
The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident will see Dorset Police work alongside the Marine Accident Investigation Branch and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in accordance with established protocols.
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