Day-tripper describes desperate rescue bid as mother and daughter drown at West Mersea beach

The incident

On Wednesday evening, several members of the Rahman family were enjoying a day at West Mersea beach near Colchester, Essex. At about 17:35 BST, screams for help broke the calm. The family, who had travelled from Barking in east London, were caught by a strong wave. Shally Rahman, 41, and her daughter Samiha, 15, got into difficulty in the water, along with a seven-year-old boy believed to be a relative. Despite a frantic rescue attempt by beachgoers and emergency services, the mother and daughter died at the scene.

Rescue efforts

Craig Bowe, a 42-year-old kitchen fitter from Northaw, Hertfordshire, was at the beach with his wife Carly and their children, celebrating their daughter’s tenth birthday. After hearing a man screaming and seeing bodies floating, he ran into the water. “When I got there, the first two people I saw were actually face down, so it was more serious than I initially thought,” he told the BBC.

When I got there, the first two people I saw were actually face down, so it was more serious than I initially thought.

He pulled Shally Rahman to shore, where bystanders began CPR. He then swam back out to rescue Samiha, before turning his attention to the children still stranded about 150 yards (137 metres) out. “I helped sort of shoo him onto the boat, because he was face down too… but the seven-year-old was not in a good way,” Bowe said. His wife Carly was among those trying to resuscitate the mother and daughter on the sand. “I just wanted them to survive and every bit of me was willing her to breathe,” she said.

Family’s shock

Matiur Rahman, Shally’s brother-in-law, said about ten family members were near the water when “suddenly a big wave came”. He described the family as “speechless and shocked”, adding that the mother and daughter were “not very good swimmers”.

My whole family – we are speechless. We can’t believe what we heard from my brother. We are very shocked.

A family friend, Mishba Uddin from Colchester, said the father is a doctor of Bangladeshi heritage and that the families had come down for the day from east London and Barking.

Beach community rallies

Beach hut owner Beverly Smit, 60, witnessed the rescue. “He swam out, I think three times. It’s not an easy swim when the tide’s coming in, you’re swimming against the tide, the water yesterday was particularly quite cold,” she said, noting that two of the children Bowe brought back “were not in good condition”. Carly Bowe insisted it was a collective effort: “Everybody on that beach that day played their part in giving that family the best chance they could to survive.”

Everybody on that beach that day played their part in giving that family the best chance they could to survive.

Police and investigation

Essex Police confirmed the victims were a mother and daughter from London. “My thoughts, and those of my team, are with the friends and family of the woman and girl who died yesterday,” said Detective Chief Inspector Al Pitcher. “We are supporting their family in what is an unimaginable time.” Officers are speaking to dozens of witnesses and have urged anyone with information to come forward. The seven-year-old boy remained in a critical condition on Friday, while three others were taken by ambulance to hospital.