A teenage girl and a woman in her 40s have died after getting into difficulty in the water off West Mersea Beach in Essex, police said.
Emergency services were called to the beach near Seaview Avenue at approximately 5:35 PM on Wednesday, with the RNLI first on scene followed by ambulances, the coastguard, and the East of England Air Ambulance. A third person remains in hospital in serious condition, while two others are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. All five people involved were known to each other, Essex Police confirmed.
The West Mersea Coastguard Rescue Team called it a "tragic incident". Police have asked the public to avoid Seaview Avenue and the surrounding beach area as investigations continue.