Bournemouth beach deaths – latest: Boat operations halted after ‘riptide’ pier tragedy

In a statement provided to Dorset Police, the family of Joe Abbess, said: “We are heartbroken and devastated at the death of our Joe. He was a wonderful son and brother who is sadly missed.

“His family and friends will always love him and we are incredibly proud of the fabulous young man he was. He was kind and generous, loving and caring, hardworking and funny.

“Joe was a talented trainee chef, with a bright future ahead of him. We were privileged to have him in our lives for 17 years and we are so sorry he will never fulfil his dreams and ambitions.

“He was enjoying a day at the beach on Wednesday and we would like to thank his friends and all of the emergency services who helped him, when this tragedy unfolded.”

Bournemouth has been rocked by the tragic deaths of two children who got into trouble in the sea as thousands of half-term holidaymakers descended on the popular beach.

A 12-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy died after suffering critical injuries during the incident near Bournemouth Pier on Wednesday.

Eight others were pulled from the water but none of their conditions were life-threatening.

Police are still establishing what happened during the incident, but a father of one of the beach tragedy survivors has claimed his 18-year-old daughter - who spent a short time in hospital after the incident - was taken out by a “riptide”.

It comes after police dismissed speculation that the victims had jumped off the pier or were hit by a vessel on the water.

Here we look at what a riptide is and what to do if you get caught in one:

The blog is closed for today.

Good morning and welcome to the Independent’s coverage of the Bournemouth beach tragedy.

Two youngsters died last week after getting into difficulty in the sea off the pier.

It remains unclear how the victims, who sustained “critical injuries”, died. We’ll bring you updates on this story as they come in.

A 17-year-old boy who died after getting into difficulty in the water off Bournemouth beach this week has been described by his family as a “fabulous young man” and “a wonderful son and brother”.

Joe Abbess, from Southampton, was “kind and generous, loving and caring, hardworking and funny”, they said.

Jane Dalton reports:

An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident has been launched by Dorset Police, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Here is everything we know so far:

The mother of a girl who died in the Bournemouth beach tragedy has said she is still in the dark about what happened during the incident.

Sunnah Khan, 12 and Joe Abbess, 17, died last week after getting into difficulty in the sea off the pier.

Her mother, Stephanie Williams, 32, said she has not been given any information beyond what Dorset Police said at a news conference following the deaths.

“It’s just really difficult to accept,” she told The Sun. "Somebody has potentially caused Sunnah to be taken away from us.

Ms Williams added the cause of her daughter’s death was drowning but there were “no other injuries”.

The father of one of the survivors of the Bournemouth beach tragedy has addressed the rumours surrounding the mystery events that led to the deaths of a 12-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy, as police search a pleasure boat as part of their investigation.

Survivor Lauren Tate, 18, one of eight others who were injured, was treated in hospital and is now continuing to recover at home, after a rip tide took her and her friends out to sea when they were swimming by the pier, according to her father.

Tara Cobham reports:

Bournemouth Pier, like all outcrops in the ocean such as groins, headlands or sandbars, presents danger for swimmers due to riptides, or rip currents.

Rips, as they are commonly known, are strong currents that occur when water that has been pushed towards land by the sea, is tracking back out, creating a channel of water which pulls back out to sea.

Full report: