Three people who died at a Cornish beach on Sunday were from St Austell and near Leeds, police say.

While the three have not been formally identified, police believe they are a 52 year-old man from the Leeds area, a 44 year-old man from St Austell and a 42 year-old from woman from St Austell.

The four youngsters who were in the sea were all boys and were two aged 18, one aged 16 and one aged 15. All four were taken to Treliske as a precaution.

The RNLI say that at least one of the people may have died while trying to rescue the others.

Steve Instance, RNLI lifeguard manager for the South West, said: "There was a group of people who were surfing. From the reports we have, one of the people who drowned may have gone in to try to help the others.

"We believe that two of the casualties are local, in their 40s, and the third is a gentleman in his 50s from outside the area.

"We believe that the group of children may have been the first to get into difficulty."

 

The RNLI, Coastguard, Police, ambulance service, air ambulance and search and rescue helicopter from Culdrose were all involved in the rescue.

Three people were taken unconscious from the sea and taken to Treliske for treatment in a serious condition. Sadly all three people were later pronounced deceased in hospital. They are two men and one woman.

Supt Jim Pearce said: “This is a tragic incident and our condolences go out to the families of those involved. Along with the other emergency services we are now working to ascertain the full circumstances of this incident."