Three members of the same family died after getting into difficulties in the waters ofShoreham-by-Sea. Police Sussex said three people - a man, a woman and a teenage girl - had died, while a young girl from the same family was in hospital in critical condition. Emergency services were called at around 14:40 BST on Tuesday to reports of four people in distress at sea near ShorehamHarbour, police said.

Illustration. Witnesses described seeing a large number of emergency vehicles and helicopters arriving at the seafront as coastguard crews, RNLI lifeboats, air ambulances, police officers and ambulance crews responded. Ch Supt James Collis said his relatives had been informed and supported by specialist officers.

"Atthis point, we believe all four entered the water from land to swim, and unfortunately had difficulty," he said. Illustration. The coast guard had completed an extensive search of the water and was not looking for anyone else, he said.

When calling for witnesses, he said an investigation was underway to understand more details. Juru bicara Badan Amal Ambulans Udara Kent Surrey Sussex menyatakan helikopter dan tim perawatan kritis telah dikirim ke lokasi kejadian sebagai bagian dari respons, dan Shoreham RNLI menyatakan sekocinya telah dipanggil. Illustration.

Services Ambulance Coast South East South East (Secamb) said it had been called to "reports of four people requiring medical attention". Part of the A259 – the main commuter road running through Brighton, Shoreham and Worthing – is closed. BBC Reporter Callum French said despite the warm weather, sea conditions were "pretty bad" due to strong winds, and described the response as "the biggest [emergency services] turnout I've ever seen".

Witnesses described seeing a large number of emergency vehicles and helicopters arriving at the seafront. Warga Shirley Pumfrey mengatakan: "Saya belum pernah melihat mereka melakukan hal itu. Seluruh jalan dipenuhi dengan layanan darurat.

Steve Chapman, who lives on the other side of the beach, said he couldn't get in his way which was why it was closed.