Burnham points open-water swimming warning after ‘terrible family tragedy’ in Sussex | West Sussex

Andy Burnham has warned of the risks of open-water swimming as he referred to as the deaths of a mom, father and their teenage daughter who acquired into problem in water off Sussex “a terrible family tragedy”.

The prime minister expressed his sympathies as a younger woman from the identical household remained in a vital situation in hospital.

There was an enormous emergency service response to the incident in Shoreham-by-Sea on Tuesday afternoon, when police have been instructed 4 folks had acquired into problem within the water.

Sussex police mentioned they believed all 4 entered the water to swim. Ch Supt James Collis confirmed {that a} man, lady and a teenage woman had died on the scene. A youthful woman from the identical household was taken to hospital in a vital situation, Collis mentioned.

Officers haven’t named the victims however mentioned their subsequent of kin had been knowledgeable and have been being supported by specialist officers.

Asked if the federal government wanted to do extra on water security, Burnham mentioned: “Always. It’s so sad to hear what happened yesterday, and obviously we think there’s a young girl still in the hospital fighting for her life, and we send our best wishes and love to wider friends and family. But a real tragedy, a real terrible family tragedy.”

Speaking on a go to to north-east England, Burnham added: “Obviously, we will look in detail at what happened. The thing I can say today, and there is still, I think, a further heatwave to come in this summer period, it is just to remind people about the dangers of open-water swimming. The coldness, even when it feels hot outside, it can shock people, and that can cause the difficulties. So people just need to remember that at all times.”

Two air ambulance helicopters and a vital care workforce have been despatched to the scene and Shoreham RNLI mentioned its lifeboat had been referred to as out at 3pm.

Burnham paid tribute to those that tried to avoid wasting the household. “I do need to praise the emergency services, who I know were on scene very quickly yesterday. They’ve had a busy summer, but they were there, and we thank them. As I say, just huge sympathy to the friends and the family,” he mentioned.

There have been a sequence of water-related deaths in a summer time of record-breaking warmth. On Saturday, a 12-year-old boy drowned within the River Lea, close to the Hackney Marshes, in north-east London.

In April, a girl and her younger little one died after stepping into problem within the water in west London. Both died on the scene in Elthorne Park, Ealing, the Metropolitan police mentioned. There have been at the very least 35 drowning deaths, together with eight in July, in keeping with a examine by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Joss Loader, the chair of Shoreham Beach Residents’ Association, mentioned: “There’s just a really strong sense of shock, obviously people are really concerned for the young girl. A small, tightly knit community with a very deep sense of shock and that sense of disbelief you get after a tragedy because it has come out of nowhere.”

Shoreham seashore is a spit of land with water on three sides from the River Adur, the estuary and the ocean, and Loader mentioned she understood the “tragic events” occurred within the estuary.

“It’s school holidays and we have had a wonderful summer so the beaches have been packed with families,” she mentioned. “People swim from those beaches even in the winter, generally it is considered as safe as the sea can be. You wouldn’t be swimming there and think you were taking a risk.”

Anna Peacock, 81, who lives close to Kingston seashore throughout the water from Shoreham fort, mentioned emergency providers have been on the scene in a short time.

“People come down to swim, particularly in the summertime and I don’t think they realise there’s a riptide along here,” she mentioned. “It’s very inviting to come to the sea, but the tide could carry you out in seconds, and I don’t think people have realised that.”