Two people have died and another remains missing amid a major incident in Withernsea that began on the afternoon of Friday, January 2.
Here is a timeline of the key events:
Around 3pm–3.10pm – First emergency calls
- Emergency services receive reports that a number of people are in difficulty in the water off the central promenade at Withernsea
- HM Coastguard later confirms the first alert came in at about 3.10pm
Shortly after 3.10pm – Major multi-agency response
HM Coastguard deploys:
- Search and rescue helicopter
- Fixed-wing aircraft
- Coastguard rescue teams from Withernsea, Hornsea and Hull
RNLI deploys:
- Withernsea inshore lifeboat
- Bridlington all-weather lifeboat
Other agencies attending:
- Humberside Police
- Humberside Fire and Rescue Service
- Yorkshire Ambulance Service
- Air ambulance
- Hornsea Inshore Rescue
Mid-afternoon – conditions described as ‘horrendous’
- Hornsea Inshore Rescue reports three-metre waves breaking on the slipway, making it too dangerous to launch
- Temperatures are described as freezing, with a strong incoming tide and rough seas
Late afternoon – search continues as daylight fades
- Helicopters and aircraft continue searching just offshore as visibility worsens
- The seafront and surrounding streets are cordoned off due to the scale of the response
7.15pm – official HM Coastguard update
- HM Coastguard confirms it is searching for two missing people in the water
- Multi-agency search efforts continue into the evening
Late evening – casualty update
- Two bodies are recovered from the sea
- A 67-year-old man is confirmed dead
- Police confirm the search continues for one further missing person
Overnight
- The search is stood down at about 12.30am on Saturday, January 3
- Emergency services confirm efforts will resume at first light, with coastguard rescue teams and partner agencies returning to conduct further searches
Early morning, Saturday, January 3
- HM Coastguard confirms that searches have resumed, with rescue teams from Hull, Withernsea, Hornsea and Bridlington, alongside police, sent to the scene at around 6.30am
- Around 8am, conditions worsen significantly, as driving snow sweeps across the area and at least 1-2in settles in about an hour
As the day progresses
- Amid the worsening conditions, the Coastguard helicopter does not resume its air search; Coastguard and RNLI crew members remain vigilant along the promenade and carry out searches of the rocks and beach
- Members of the fire service search the rocks near the Pier Towers with telescopic camera equipment
- Police maintain a high-visibility presence on the prom
- The snow flurries ease off in the early afternoon
- Several people begin to lay flowers at the entrance to the Pier Towers
Search stood down
- At 4pm on Saturday, January, 3, HM Coastguard says it has stood down its “extensive search effort” for the missing person.
Sunday, January 4
- Police name the 67-year-old man who lost his life trying to save others as Mark Ratcliffe. He is hailed a “true selfless hero” by his family.
- Later, with the permission of the family, the other two victims are named as Sarah Keeling, 45, and her 15-year-old daughter Grace, of Nottinghamshire. Searches were continuing for Grace, who remained missing.