Holidaymaker, 27, drowns at a popular Cornish beach after he was caught in a rip tide and swept out to sea with two other men
- Helicopter and two lifeboats called in after three men swept out to sea
- Hero surfers rescued them from the water and they were flown to hospital
- One man, 27, has since died. The other two men are expected to recover
A holidaymaker has died after being pulled from the sea at a tourist hotspot, police said.
The 27-year-old was among a group of three men who got into difficulty after being caught in a rip tide and swept out to sea at Crantock Beach in Newquay, Cornwall, on Tuesday night.
The Coastguard, including a search and rescue helicopter, along with two RNLI lifeboats and police and ambulance crews were sent to the incident at around 7.30pm.
A man has died after he was pulled from the sea at Crantock Beach in Cornwall
The group, who were on holiday in the area, were rescued from the water by two local surfers and then airlifted to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro by the Coastguard helicopter.
Leigh Hallam, from Newquay, saw the tragedy unfold.
He said: 'I was watching them when they started getting dragged out. Four of them scrambled on the rocks but three of them kept getting dragged out.
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'I called 999 and they kept me on the phone. I was shouting to some paddleboarders and surfer to grab them, and I was shouting to the three guys to swim sideways out of the rip but they was unresponsive.
'The paddleboarders and surfers got to them. All three was unresponsive as they got to shore.'
RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor John Steadman said after that incident: 'Crantock beach has some unpredictable currents at the moment due to the topography of the beach constantly changing.
'The river is still running across the length of the beach which causes lateral currents at certain stages of the tide.'
A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said: 'The 27-year-old man was pronounced deceased a short time later.
'His next of kin have been informed. The death is not being treated as suspicious and police will be carrying out inquiries on behalf of the coroner.'
The other two swimmers, aged 17 and 18, remain in hospital in Truro but are not believed to be in a serious condition.
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