Witnesses say a heroic day-tripper managed to haul two children back to shore during an incident in which a mother and daughter drowned in West Mersea, near Colchester, on Wednesday evening. Members of HM Coastguard returned to lay flowers at the scene on Thursday evening, as people continued to come to terms with what happened.
Beverly Smit, 60, described the unnamed rescuer swimming out to sea three times as the tragedy unfolded. She said the children and adults were calling for help, and that two of the children he brought back were not in good condition.
"They were calling for help and the children and adults were out there.
"He swam out, I think, three times. Two of the children he brought back were not in good condition.
"It's not an easy swim when the tide's coming in - you're swimming against the tide. The water [on Wednesday] was particularly quite cold."
Shally Rahman, 41, and Samiha Rahman, 15, were trying to rescue a seven-year-old boy from the water when they got into difficulty and died. Essex Police said the group, from Barking, east London, were all related to each other and that the boy remained in hospital, fighting for his life.
The mother and daughter died at the scene at about 17:35 BST, while the young boy was airlifted to the Royal London Hospital. Three others were taken by ambulance to another hospital.
One of the members of the extended family is a constituent of Naz Shah, the Labour MP for Bradford West, and she said the deaths had been felt "very deeply" locally.
"They tried to save them but couldn't,"
"I am just absolutely devastated and shocked that this could happen. The family went out for day on the beach."
People have described how bystanders rushed to the water to help, including teenagers who worked at the nearby Seaview Beach Diner and an off-duty paramedic.
Leonie Powling, 19, was among those who rushed to help and said they "did what we could" after seeing people administer CPR to those pulled from the water.
"We wished we helped a bit more, but we did what we could,"
"Now knowing that people have died, it's a lot sadder that we were there and kind of witnessed it."
Residents living in nearby flats also rushed to the scene with blankets, hoping to help both emergency crews and those who had been in the water.
Shally Rahman's brother-in-law, Matiur Rahman, said his family were "speechless" about the incident. Speaking to the BBC from Bangladesh, he said: "We are very shocked. We can't explain [what has happened]," and described his niece as a "very, very good person" and his sister-in-law as "a very helpful person".
The BBC understands the boy may have been on a sandbank when he was cut off from the shore, sparking the rescue efforts. West Mersea is on an island south-east of the city of Colchester.
Detectives have been trying to piece together how the tragedy unfolded and have appealed for witnesses to come forward. Det Ch Insp Al Pitcher said officers were speaking to dozens of witnesses and building a picture of what happened.
"We are working through speaking to dozens of witnesses and taking their accounts, and we are building a picture of what happened.
"These inquiries are ongoing and I need anyone who has any information to get in contact."
Do you have a story suggestion for Essex? Contact us below.
Get in touch
Follow Essex news on , Facebook, external, Instagram, external and X, external.
Mum and daughter who died at beach were trying to save boy, 7
Mother and daughter who died at Essex beach were trying to help boy, police believe
