Overview
- Essex Police confirmed that a teenage girl and a woman in their 40s died after several people got into difficulty in the water near Seaview Avenue.
- The rescue began after a 5.35pm call on Wednesday 22 July and involved RNLI lifeboats, HM Coastguard, Essex fire crews, the East of England Ambulance Service with two air ambulances and Hazardous Area Response Team officers.
- Officers say the dead were a mother and daughter from London who emergency crews believe were trying to help a seven‑year‑old when the tide came in, and investigators are reviewing dozens of witness accounts and footage.
- A third person remains in hospital in a serious or critical condition and two others received non‑life‑threatening treatment, while local café staff and other bystanders performed CPR and early rescues before emergency teams arrived.
- Police have asked anyone with information, images or video to contact 101 and quote incident 1090, and the tragedy has renewed warnings about hidden currents, sandbanks and risks at non‑lifeguarded coastal sites.