Three members of the same family have died and a fourth person has been taken to hospital after a major emergency unfolded off the coast at Shoreham-by-Sea. Emergency services raced to the area close to Shoreham Fort in West Sussex on Tuesday afternoon, August 18, following reports that four people were in difficulty in the water.
Sussex Police confirmed that a man, a woman and a teenage girl were pronounced dead despite extensive efforts by emergency crews to save them. A fourth member of the family survived and was taken to hospital.
Their condition has not been officially confirmed in the information released by police.
Police said all four had entered the water from the land for a swim before getting into difficulty.
Major rescue operation launched
The alarm was raised shortly before 3pm, triggering a huge multi-agency emergency response involving police, ambulance crews, Coastguard teams and RNLI lifeboats.
Shoreham Harbour RNLI launched lifeboats at around 2.51pm, while additional lifeboats were sent from Brighton shortly after 3pm. A Coastguard helicopter and rescue teams were also deployed, while air ambulances and numerous ambulance crews attended the shoreline.
Witnesses reported seeing emergency workers performing CPR as casualties were brought from the water.
Police closed part of the A259 while the emergency operation was underway and urged members of the public to stay away from the area. One witness said local fishermen had initially seen a young girl struggling in the water before other members of the family also got into difficulty.
Reports that somebody may have become caught in fishing equipment have circulated among witnesses, but this has not been confirmed by Sussex Police and the precise circumstances surrounding the tragedy remain under investigation.
Police confirm nobody else missing
Sussex Police said:
“Tragically despite the best efforts of paramedics three people, a man, a woman and a teenage girl were pronounced dead. “All four entered the water from the land for a swim but got into difficulty.”
Police have confirmed they are not searching for anybody else in connection with the incident.
The deaths come after an enormous emergency response along Shoreham’s seafront, with witnesses describing numerous police, ambulance, Coastguard and lifeboat vehicles converging on the area. The identities of those who died have not yet been officially released.
Further updates are expected as Sussex Police and the emergency services establish the full circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
