Bournemouth: Girl (12) & boy (17) die after major incident at beach - 8 others treated at scene - man arrested

A 12-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy have died following a major incident in the water off Bournemouth pier. Dorset Police say they received a report from the ambulance service requesting assistance at 4:32pm on Wednesday, May 31.

Masses of emergency services arrived at the scene including the coastguard and two air ambulances. Detectives have since launched an investigation into the deaths and a man in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

Ten people in total were recovered from the water. A 17-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl sustained critical injuries and sadly died later, with the other eight treated by the ambulance service for injuries that were not life-threatening.

Shortly after the incident, a spokesperson for HM Coastguard said: “Two people had been pulled from the water and passed into the care of the ambulance service. Coastguards searched to make sure there were no other people missing and are satisfied there are not.”

On Thursday (June 1), it was confirmed that the two children who died were not hit by a vessel and there was ‘no suggestion’ of anyone jumping from the pier

Dorset Police held a press conference where they confirmed that the children who died were not related, and that the 17 year-old boy who died was from Southampton and the 12 year-old girl was from Buckinghamshire.

Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Corrigan, of Dorset Police, said: “Our thoughts are with the loved ones of the young people who tragically died and we are doing all we can to support their families.

“I understand the beach was very busy at the time of the incident and I would ask anyone with information that may assist our enquiries to please come forward. We are at the early stages of our investigation and would ask people not to speculate about the circumstances surrounding the incident.”