Two die and sea search for third person called off

Two people have died and a third person is missing after a major search and rescue operation off the East Yorkshire coast.

An eyewitness described how people entered the water at Withernsea to try and save a young woman shortly after 15:00 GMT on Friday.

On Friday, a 67-year-old man was pulled from the water and died at the scene before a second body was recovered in the evening, Humberside Police said.

HM Coastguard started the second day of searching for the missing person at first light but said the search been stood down at 16:00 on Saturday afternoon and would not be resumed.

HM Coastguard initially responded to reports of a "number of people in difficulty in the water" at the seaside town.

Police did not provide the gender or age of the second body they recovered, and said the circumstances were not suspicious.

George Gouldson, 73, was taking photographs of the stormy seas from his car when the incident began.

He said he saw people "running towards the towers", a local landmark on the promenade.

"I saw three people in the water before others got in. One of the people in the water was a female.

"A bloke was trying to throw a life ring to her, but it wouldn't reach her. The tide just took her. She was swept away, along the length of the beach, towards the rocks. The water was that fierce.

"A load of people were trying to get to her. One bloke got out of the water. I picked him up and sat him against a wall. He looked to be hypothermic."

Mr Gouldson, who returned to the scene with his dog on Saturday morning, said he did not see the woman or the two other people emerge from the water.

"It's something you see on television, not in Withernsea," he added.

"My mind just won't settle. It's just so sad."

Janice Holgate, 60, drove 17 miles (27km) from her home in Hull to lay flowers at the scene.

She said: "It breaks my heart what has happened. It's an awful start to the year. I just wanted to do something."

Withernsea Methodist Church opened its doors for prayers on Saturday morning.

The Reverend Ian Greenfield said he had received messages from all over the country offering support.

"When we realized the severity of it and the tragedy of it, we felt it was really important that we had our church open this morning for people to come along.

"For people to be able to come and pray and to receive emotional support," he said.

The incident was first reported at 15:10 on Friday, resulting in a major search involving a rescue helicopter, air ambulance and RNLI crews from Withernsea, Bridlington and Hornsea Inshore Rescue.

The search was paused at about 00:30 on Saturday and resumed at first light.

A spokesperson for HM Coastguard said teams from Hull, Withernsea, Hornsea and Bridlington were sent to the scene at 06:30 to continue the search.

At Withernsea, snow began to fall just after first light and those searching have been battling bitterly cold and windy conditions along with driving snow.

Snow and ice warnings are covering much of the UK over the weekend and beyond and a yellow warning is in place for the east coast of England until 23:49 on Saturday.

A police spokesperson said: "Residents will continue to see an increased police presence in and around the area as the search continues.

"We continue to ask that people avoid the area to allow emergency services to work efficiently and safely."

Hornsea Inshore Rescue said on Friday it had faced "horrendous conditions" and there had been 9.8ft (3m) waves.

The operation has involved about 100 members of the emergency services, including Yorkshire Ambulance and Humberside Fire and Rescue.

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