Witnesses recall mother and daughter, 15, drowned whilst attempting to save child
Onlookers of a tragic double drowning have spoken out after the victims were identified as a mother and her teenage daughter.
Shally Rahman, 42, and Samiha Rahman, 15, ventured into the water of Essex beach near Colchester on Wednesday evening (22 Jul) after noticing a child had gotten swept away by the strong tide.
In an attempt to rescue the youngster - believed to have been a six-year-old girl - Shally and Samiha swam out trying to reach her, only to be carried away themselves.
According to a police statement, the West Mersea Coastguard Rescue Team arrived on the scene at around 5.30 pm yesterday after spectators reported numerous people needing to be pulled from the water.
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A third person, reported by the BBC as a seven-year-old boy, was hospitalised after being rescued, and remains in serious condition.
Two other people who joined Shally and Samiha in trying to help the girl are now being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
One person was airlifted from West Mersea beach to a nearby hospital, while three others were transported via road.
A witness living locally to the area told The Mail: "The first we knew something was wrong was when we heard a helicopter overhead. I spoke to someone who saw the emergency services working on someone and pumping their chest on the beach.
"People were shouting, 'Come on, you can do it.' They couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman."
The Coastguard Rescue Team later revealed it had 'responded to a tragic incident', and that their thoughts were 'with the family involved'.
A spokesperson for the East of England Ambulance Service added: 'Following reports of multiple people in distress in the water at Sea View Holiday Park, West Mersea yesterday evening, we dispatched multiple resources including our Hazardous Area Response Team, critical care paramedics and two air ambulances to the scene.
"Sadly, despite best efforts, two patients could not be resuscitated. One patient was transported by air to hospital, and a further three patients were transported by road to hospital."
The identities of Shally and Samiha were confirmed by the UK Bangladeshi National Party (BNP)'s conveyor Abul Kalam Azad and member secretary Khosruzzaman Khosru, as per The Mail.
The pair were confirmed as the wife and child of politician Dr Mansur Rahman, the leader of Jubo Dal UK (the youth wing of the BNP), LBC also reports.
The Bangladeshi-UK news Daily Dazzling Dawn reported, meanwhile: "The family was enjoying a summer holiday trip to the seaside when the heartbreaking incident occurred. Other injured family members were airlifted to a London hospital by helicopter."
"Our source confirmed that the tragedy occurred due to an incoming high tide at West Mersea. The family was sitting near the shoreline when a six-year-old child was suddenly swept away by strong currents.
"Rushing into the water to save the child, both the mother and daughter tragically drowned."
As reported by The Independent, a family friend of the deceased, Mishba Uddin, said the mother-daughter duo had come down for the day from east London and Barking.
He added that Samiha's father is a doctor of Bangladeshi heritage, but that he 'only knows the grandfather very well', adding: "They are a very nice and likeable family."
Rhianna Benson