Witnesses have described the moment a heroic holidaymaker helped several children back to safety on the shore after an incident on an Essex beach where a mother and daughter drowned.
The man, who was believed to be on a day trip to West Mersea beach near Colchester, heard the group “calling for help” and reportedly swam out “three times” to help pull children from the water.
Beach hut owner Beverly Smit, 60, said the man, who had been renting a neighbouring beach hut, had brought back multiple children, adding: “Two of the children he brought back were not in good condition.”
She continued: “He saw and they were calling for help and the children and adults were out there. He swam out, I think three times. It’s not an easy swim when the tide’s coming in, you’re swimming against the tide, the water yesterday was particularly quite cold.”
Shally Rahman, 41, and Samiha Rahman, 15, died after getting into difficulty in the water on Wednesday evening. Police said they currently believe they were trying to help a seven-year-old boy, who remains in hospital in a critical condition.
Police said all the people involved in the incident are believed to be related.
Their grieving family said they are “speechless and shocked” at the tragedy and described the mother and daughter as “not very good swimmers”.
Shally Rahman’s brother-in-law, Matiur Rahman, told the BBC about 10 members of his family were near the water playing when “suddenly a big wave came”.
“We all feel very bad, my four brothers, my sister… everybody in the UK and back home (in Bangladesh),” he added.
“My whole family – we are speechless. We can’t believe what we heard from my brother.
“We are very shocked.”
A family friend of the deceased, Mishba Uddin from Colchester, told the press the families involved in the incident had come down for the day from east London and Barking.
He said the father is a doctor of Bangladeshi heritage, but he “only knows the grandfather very well”.
“They are a very nice and likeable family,” added Mr Uddin.
Police said they are speaking to “dozens” of witnesses to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident, and said their thoughts are with the family.
Detective Chief Inspector Al Pitcher said: “My thoughts, and those of my team, are with the friends and family of the woman and girl who died yesterday.
“We can now confirm they were a mother and daughter from London and we are supporting their family in what is an unimaginable time.
“Since yesterday we have been working to establish the circumstances which led up to this incident. At this stage we believe they were trying to help a seven-year-old boy who had got into difficulties.
“The boy was taken to hospital where he remains in a critical condition but the woman and teenage girl, sadly, died. All the people involved in this incident are related to each other.
“As part of our investigation we are working through speaking to dozens of witnesses and taking their accounts, and we are building a picture of what happened. These enquiries are ongoing and I need anyone who has any information to get in contact.”
He also thanked the first responders on the scene, who he said worked “tirelessly” to try and save their lives.
