The police have warned the public to ‘stay away’ from West Mersea beach near Colchester, Essex, after a ‘tragic incident’.
Locals fear there may have been fatalities, having reportedly seen people being pulled from the water and CPR performed.
West Mersea Coastguard Rescue Team said in a statement their ‘thoughts are with the family involved’, although no further details have been shared.
The emergency services, including at least six ambulances, arrived on scene around 5.30pm on Wednesday evening, with the RNLI first to respond.
A spokesperson said: ‘Tonight we have responded to a tragic incident on West Mersea beach.
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‘Our team and West Mersea Lifeboat Station – RNLI were first on scene.
‘We will not be making any further comment on the details at this time and leave this task to Essex Police as an ongoing incident. Our thoughts are with the family involved.’
The currents are known to be strong in the area, which can take visitors by surprise, however the emergency services have not yet confirmed the nature of the incident.
In a statement on Facebook, the local police said: ‘While we remain on scene, we would ask the public to avoid the Seaview Avenue and beach area.
‘We appreciate that this will cause some local issues, but would ask for your patience and understanding as we may be there for some time yet.’
The area was cordoned off with a wind breaker, with emergency vehicles parked alongside the multicoloured pastel beach huts.
Two air ambulances were called and landed nearby, along with a dozen police cars, a fire engine, a lifeboat, six ambulances, and a Coastguard helicopter.
According to The Sun, the lifeboat was seen launching and searching in the water yesterday.Police were also seen walking the shoreline with torches.
An eyewitness told the outlet they saw ‘about 18 emergency vehicles’, claiming they ‘must have been searching for someone’.
‘A lot of people had their head in their hands so it was clearly a sensitive issue,’ they added. ‘All the paramedics I could see were down at the beach.’
The RNLI confirmed it’s lifeboats from West Mersea and Clacton had been launched but no further details have been given so far.
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