Police officers are urging people to take down footage of an incident on Bournemouth beach as investigations continue into the deaths of two children.
A 12-year-old girl from Buckinghamshire and 17-year-old boy from Southampton died after they were pulled from the water on Wednesday afternoon. The two victims suffered 'critical' injuries in the incident that happened next to Bournemouth Pier on one of the hottest days of the year.
Lifeguards rushed into the sea to rescue eight other children who were at risk of being swept away by a sudden and strong undercurrent, Dorset Live reports.
READ MORE: Mystery deepens after police update on Bournemouth tragedy that killed two children
Some people decided to watch and film the distressing scenes as RNLI lifeguards and daytrippers frantically tried to save swimmers' lives. Footage of the emergency service response has been shared across social media, with one user uploading several graphic videos which appear to show two people receiving medical treatment and CPR with upbeat music playing.
In one video, a cameraman was told by a coastguard officer and police officer to "move back" and leave the scene they were filming. Commenters meanwhile have reported the videos and described the footage as "completely disrespectful" and "should be removed immediately".
Nicola Holton, who was with her partner and two children at the time, told Mirror Online that people ignored emergency services' pleas to move away from the area and saw individuals filming RNLI lifeguards desperately trying to save the children's lives.
She said: "There were loads of idiots ignoring lifeguard requests to get out of the water and clear the beach. People were running towards those having CPR filming on their phones."
Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Farrell told reporters at a press conference today (Thursday, June 1) that people should not speculate about the circumstances surrounding the incident out of respect for the victims’ families and their own investigations. She said: "We know the beach was very busy when this incident occurred.
"I am today urging anyone who saw what happened, or has any information that may assist our investigation, to please come forward. I would also ask anyone with relevant phone footage that may assist our enquiries to submit it to Dorset Police via the Major Incident Public Portal quoting Operation Marble rather than sharing it on social media."
A force spokeswoman added: "We would ask anyone with relevant phone footage that may assist our enquiries to submit it to the Force quoting occurrence number 55230083818 rather than sharing it on social media."
Investigations are meanwhile ongoing into the tragic incident, with a man in his 40s who was 'on the water' at the time arrested for the alleged manslaughter. Assistant chief constable Rachel Farrell also confirmed the victims were not related and not known to each other.
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