A 24-year-old man has died after getting into difficulty in the sea at Camber Sands beach in East Sussex on Sunday evening, emergency services have confirmed. Sussex Police said officers were called to the scene just before 19:00 BST following reports that three people were struggling in the water.
The man was recovered from the sea around 30 minutes after the alarm was raised. Paramedics attempted to save him, but he was pronounced dead a short time later. Police said his next of kin have since been informed. Two others involved in the incident, a 16-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man, made it back to shore safely.
Who responded to the incident?
The response involved multiple emergency services working together. Alongside Sussex Police, HM Coastguard, the Pett Level lifeboat crew and the South East Coast Ambulance Service all attended the scene at Camber Sands.
Has this happened at Camber Sands before?
Camber Sands has a troubled history when it comes to water safety, having been the site of previous fatal incidents. In 2016, five men died there after getting into difficulty in the sea, an event that led to heightened scrutiny of the beach's currents and tidal conditions, according to a national broadcaster's earlier report.
This is not the only recent case of people getting into difficulty in the sea along the UK coastline. In a separate incident, a man and a woman died after being pulled from the water off Fistral Beach in Newquay, Cornwall, also on a Sunday evening, with HM Coastguard, police, RNLI lifeboats and a coastguard helicopter responding to that emergency.
What happens next?
Sussex Police have confirmed that inquiries into the circumstances of Sunday's incident are ongoing, and that an increased emergency presence remains visible in the area, according to a recent police statement. No further details about the cause of the incident have yet been released.
Key Facts
- Sussex Police were called to Camber Sands beach just before 19:00 BST on Sunday.
- A 24-year-old man was pulled from the sea roughly 30 minutes after the call but could not be saved.
- A 16-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man returned to shore safely.
- HM Coastguard, Pett Level lifeboat and South East Coast Ambulance Service assisted at the scene.
- Camber Sands was the site of a fatal incident in 2016 in which five men died in the sea.
