The search operation for two sea swimmers who went missing in fierce tides off Weston-super-Mare has been officially called off.The pair, named locally as Dave Ellams, a chef, and Lee Tompkins, a receptionist, are feared drowned after a huge search failed for find them.
Coastguards said "all chances of survival had passed".
The men, both aged 34 and "under the influence of alcohol", waded into the sea on Sunday night near Birnbeck Pier in Weston and were seen to get into difficulties after the tide turned.
More than 50 personnel, an RAF helicopter and lifeboats were all called out after an initial call was received at 9pm.
The search stopped at 3am in the morning and resumed at 5am, but in the afternoon the operation ended.
Amy Crisp, the girlfriend of one of the missing men, said: "We just decided to go down on to the rocks, just for a few drinks and to have a laugh, and they decided to go out for a swim.
"I turned around and told them not to go out too far and I think the sea was just a bit too much for them."
Sky News reporter Richard Suchet, who has been reporting from Weston, said: "These two men stripped to their boxer shorts and went for a dip in the water, watched by their girlfriends who waited on the beach.
"They got into trouble when the tide started to turn, and they were dragged half a mile out to sea."
As sunlight faded, two flares were fired from the beach by the Coastguard in an effort to light the scene, as the men were heard shouting for help.Eric Birkett, watch manager at Swansea Coastguard, said: "Further flares were fired just after 11.30pm in order to light areas of mud in which two men could possibly be trapped.
The Coastguard Rescue Team and RNLI lifeboats at Weston-super-Mare were all contacted at the same time and the Avon and Somerset Police informed.
A rescue helicopter from RAF Chivenor was scrambled, as was the Burnham inshore lifeboat.
A spokesman for Burnham-on-Sea RNLI said the men were "apparently under the influence of alcohol".
No comments:
Post a Comment
use