Durdle Door: Four injured in 200ft cliff jump, prompting police to close packed beach
Helicopters land on sand as coastguard chief slates ‘absolute carnage’ of people failing to social-distance
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Four people have been seriously injured jumping off cliffs into the sea at a beach in Dorset.
Air ambulances landed at the scene at Durdle Door, after police said they had been called to two separate incidents.
Videos on social media showed people climbing and making the leap from the 200ft rocks in what was suspected to be “tombstoning”.
People were jumping from the iconic arch at the site, according to a post on Poole Police’s Facebook page.
Before the accidents, the beach was packed with sun-seekers despite coronavirus social-distancing rules.
Images posted by Purbeck Police show helicopters landing on the sand and crowds leaving the beach en masse as the area was evacuated.
Drew Parkinson, area commander of South Devon Coastguard, tweeted that people going to beaches were putting themselves, others and rescuers at risk, branding the scenes “absolute carnage”.
Coastguard crews and the RNLI helped to clear the area after police were called at around 3.45pm.
Chief Inspector Claire Phillips, of Dorset Police, said: “We have had to close the beach at Durdle Door to allow air ambulances to land. As a result, we are evacuating the beach and the surrounding cliff area.
“I am urging people to leave the area to enable emergency services to treat the injured people.”
Pictures taken earlier on Saturday showed the beach busy as the public were reminded to practise social distancing in the good weather following the relaxation of coronavirus lockdown restrictions. Scores of visitors leaving the beach were seen taking the same path, bunching up without distancing.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments