Three surfers die in killer rip off coast of Cornwall, England

[webfact]

Three surfers die in killer rip off coast of Cornwall, England

SYDNEY: -- THREE surfers have died off the coast of Cornwall in the south west of England after struggling in rough seas.

The two men and one woman were taken unconscious from the sea and taken to hospital in a serious condition but were later pronounced dead.

The deceased were a woman aged in her 30s, a male in his 50s and a male in his 20s to 30s with the victims’ next of kin still to be notified.

At least two of the victims were locals and it is understood one had actually re-entered the water to help the others in trouble.

Police said four children and three adults got into difficulty off Mawgan Porth Beach near Newquay in Cornwall about 1.30pm local time.

Images from Mawgan Porth beach in Cornwall where three surfers have tragically died http://t.co/MLKpQEEbog pic.twitter.com/LlydNOYvYW
— ITV News (@itvnews) October 26, 2014

Full story: http://www.news.com.au/world/three-surfers-die-in-killer-rip-off-coast-of-cornwall-england/story-fndir2ev-1227103521403


-- News.com.au 2014-10-27

[Jdiddy]

Damn, ive been caught in a powerful rip myself and got flushed out to sea, its not a nice experience, though i did manage to get back in on my own

Edited October 27, 2014 by Jdiddy

[mania]

Damn, ive been caught in a powerful rip myself and got flushed out to sea, its not a nice experience, though i did manage to get back in on my own

So have I ...a few times in my life actually as I always lived near the ocean.

Sometimes it is a double problem for some.

1- many times believe it or not surfers are not great freestyle swimmers without the board

2- many people will try to fight a rip & swim against it till exhausted

[bkkcanuck8]

Damn, ive been caught in a powerful rip myself and got flushed out to sea, its not a nice experience, though i did manage to get back in on my own

So have I ...a few times in my life actually as I always lived near the ocean.

Sometimes it is a double problem for some.

1- many times believe it or not surfers are not great freestyle swimmers without the board

2- many people will try to fight a rip & swim against it till exhausted

The second is the most common -- especially those not raised near the ocean since they are most likely the ones naive about rips.

[TPI]

Lovely beaches, cold water, hyperthermia? So sad!

[bkkcanuck8]

Lovely beaches, cold water, hyperthermia? So sad!

That would be my guess for the locals that were trying to help, not prepared (though I don't know the temperature of the waters there). Not sure about the surfer dude, he might have panicked and made it worse. Once your in a rip, you are suppose to swim parallel to the shoreline until you are out of the rip -- then swim to shore. If you panic and swim directly to shore - you end up fighting a losing battle and tiring yourself out (then drown).

[Robert2006]

You would think as long as they had their boards they would be alright. You must not panic and realize you will never win in a battle with an ocean current. It happened to me once and I was just swimming no board, its a terrifying experience.

[F430murci]

You would think as long as they had their boards they would be alright. You must not panic and realize you will never win in a battle with an ocean current. It happened to me once and I was just swimming no board, its a terrifying experience.

Yes, very unusual. There are different types of rips. For instance, places like Wedge at Newport Beach, Pipe or Chopes haves areas on the inside where you just get pummeled without being taken out so you can escape. I travel for storm surf and big waves. Regular rips are nothing for most surfers. Something wired going on here like a Wedge inside mess without a huge contingent of trained life guards and watercraft to assist.

[MJP]

Mawgan Porth deaths: Rescuers 'died helping surfers'

Three adults that died in a beach tragedy in Cornwall could have been trying to save young surfers in difficulty, witnesses have said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-29782487

Terribly sad. It follows the death of a young man on Saturday off Newquay.

Swimmer dies after going missing off Newquay

The alarm was raised after the 23-year-old, from Cornwall, went missing for about 15 minutes while swimming at about 02:30 BST, the RNLI said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-29771154