Shally Rahman, 42, and her daughter Samiha Rahman, 15, from Barking, East London, died after getting into difficulty in the water off West Mersea beach in Essex on Wednesday afternoon. They were attempting to save a seven-year-old cousin who had got into trouble as the tide came in, according to family friend Mishba Uddin.
Essex Police confirmed that a teenage girl and a woman in her 40s died, while a third person remains in a serious condition and two others are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The East of England Ambulance Service said one patient was airlifted to hospital and three others were taken by road.
Family friend describes tragic day out
Mishba Uddin, a family friend from Colchester, visited the scene on Thursday and told reporters the families had come from east London and Barking for a day out. He said the seven-year-old girl in critical condition was the cousin of the deceased teenager. “The little one got into trouble then the other one tried to save her,” he said. “They were not very good swimmers. They were just a working class family going for a day out. We as a whole community are in shock.”
Mr Uddin added that the father is a doctor of Bangladesh heritage. “They are a very nice and likeable family,” he said.
Witnesses describe rescue efforts
Beach hut owner Beverly Smit, 60, of West Mersea, said she heard the emergency response and saw helicopters in the fields. A day tripper who rented a neighbouring hut swam out three times to help. “Two of the children he brought back were not in good condition,” she said. “It's not an easy swim when the tide's coming in, you're swimming against the tide, the water yesterday was particularly quite cold.” Ms Smit, a member of a rowing club, described the incident as a “massive scale of rescue and tragedy”.
A woman at the scene said the incident happened at high tide: “The tide was a lot further in than it is now and that sandbank, they were on there and the tide came in. It comes in very quickly and you have to be careful.”
Teenage waitresses assist in rescue
Carl Powling, a Colchester councillor, said his daughter and two other teenage waitresses from a local cafe tried to help. “Three teenage girls, the waitresses in there, actually came out. One of them was on the phone directing the police where to come, the other two were on the beach assisting with the first aid, keeping people away from filming it as well. Very level-headed, absolutely amazing for that age group.” They helped until the coastguard arrived.
Prime Minister and police respond
Prime Minister Andy Burnham told ITV Anglia he was “so sad to hear the news” and highlighted the dangers of open water swimming. He said: “Thank you to the emergency services who stepped in and of course, you know, we will work to support the local authorities as we get to the bottom of this.”
Detective Chief Inspector Al Pitcher said: “We would ask anyone who was at the beach at the time, and who has not yet spoken with officers, to please get in touch, to help us understand what happened.” The West Mersea Coastguard Rescue Team said: “Our thoughts are with the family involved.”
Anyone with information or footage is asked to call 101 and quote incident 1090.
