9.28 AM Tuesday, 19 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 05:07 06:20 12:29 15:54 18:33 19:47
19 March 2024

Five people die on hottest day of year

Published
By AFP

Five beachgoers died as Britain sweltered on the hottest day of the year, officials said, bringing to 12 the number of people to have perished in the past week.

Millions have headed to the coast to escape a heatwave that has hit towards the end of the school holidays and officials have warned holidaymakers to stay at a safe distance from the water.

The bodies of two men were found at Camber Sands, southeast England, hours after three men died after being pulled from the sea.

The cause of death was not immediately given.

Police said emergency services were called to the beach in the early afternoon after the first person was spotted in the sea.

Two others were seen in difficulty and brought ashore, but despite rescue efforts all three men died.

"This has been an incredibly tragic situation. At this stage we are doing all we can to establish who the men are and to identify next of kin," Chief Superintendent Di Roskilly said in a statement.

Roskilly added that authorities were still trying to establish what happened, with no information given as to the identity of the victims.

The coastguard and police were not immediately available to comment on the circumstances of the deaths, which came on the hottest day of the year with temperatures reaching 33.9 Celsius (93 Fahrenheit).

The heatwave has come during the school holidays and prompted authorities including the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to issue safety advice.

The Camber Sands deaths follow seven drownings since Friday, the majority in southern England and two in Scotland.

A two-year-old girl died on Tuesday in hospital after being rescued on Friday in Newquay. Her father also drowned after being caught in rough seas.

A woman died on Sunday off Jersey, the same day a man drowned in Poole.

A day earlier a windsurfer died off the coast of Essex, while a mother and her son drowned in Aberdeen.

Following the weekend accidents, beachgoers were told to heed warnings from lifeguards.

"What should be an enjoyable experience could so easily take a traumatic turn, so please do listen to warnings and stay at a safe distance from the water," James Instance from the coastguard said in a statement issued on Sunday.