Perranporth: One dead after 'people in difficulty' at beach

One person has died after getting into difficulty at a beach in Cornwall.

Two young adults were reported to be struggling while "rock jumping in the water" at Droskyn Point, Perranporth, at about 17:00 BST on Thursday, coastguards said.

One was able to get back to shore while a female was rescued, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said.

Attempts were made to resuscitate her but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

A major rescue operation was launched after the alarm was raised at the popular resort.

James Instance, from Falmouth Coastguard, told BBC Radio Cornwall that 999 calls included one woman who said her two children were in the water and her "daughter was in difficulty".

Mr Instance said it was high water and a "choppy and confused sea" which led to a "lot of emergency resource" being deployed.

He said lifeguards were on duty and made a "very quick response".

But he said: "Unfortunately... it's just an area of the beach that, at high tide at Droskyn, it's just slightly around the corner and not in the visibility of where lifeguards are patrolling and putting their focus, i.e. between the red and yellow flags."

He added: "Trying to get out in an area where it's very choppy and around rocks... that certainly seems to have been a big part of the problem [to get to the pair]."

RNLI lifeguards from Perranporth, the coastguard rescue team from St Agnes, the coastguard helicopter from Newquay, an air ambulance and Devon and Cornwall Police also attended.

Devon and Cornwall Police said the female's next of kin were aware and a file on the death would be prepared for the coroner.

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