3 Surfers Die in Single Incident

Cornwall trio in 'wrong place at wrong time'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 27, 2014 12:09 AM CDT
Updated Oct 27, 2014 2:56 AM CDT
3 Surfers Die in Single Incident
Mawgan Porth Beach near Newquay, Cornwall.    (Wikipedia/Neil Hanson)

Surf tragedy in Britain: Three people died after being caught in a rip current off a beach in Cornwall yesterday. Police say a man and woman in their 40s and a man in his 50s died after they were pulled unconscious from the water and airlifted to the hospital, reports the BBC. Four children in the same group were saved. An emergency services worker describes conditions at the popular Mawgan Porth as "dangerous" and says one of the casualties entered the water to assist others who were struggling.

The owner of a nearby surf school tells the Guardian that while the currents may have been slightly more dangerous than usual, he has seen far worse conditions. "The waves were bigger, they were quite big. And it wasn't the safest of days to be in the sea," he says. "But it wasn't particularly dangerous. There were lots of safe places to be and they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." (In California earlier this month, surfers were in the right place at the right time to rescue a couple whose romantic hot-air-balloon ride had gone awry.)

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