Overview
- Emergency services were alerted at 10:25 a.m. to reports of people in difficulty off Budleigh Salterton on Christmas Day.
- HM Coastguard deployed Exmouth and Beer coastguard teams, RNLI lifeboats from Exmouth, Teignmouth and Torbay, and search-and-rescue helicopters alongside police and ambulance crews.
- Several people were brought ashore; two were checked by paramedics and one was taken to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital as a precaution, according to police and the ambulance service.
- The Met Office had issued a yellow warning for strong east to northeasterly winds and large waves, and many festive swims were canceled across Devon and Cornwall.
- HM Coastguard said its part of the search was stood down at 5 p.m., while police urged people to stay out of the water and confirmed two men remain unaccounted for with families being informed.