A second man has recounted how the dangerous swells bashed him and the woman who died against the rocks as he attempted to save her life
A man has told of how he too almost drowned as he tried to save one of the Fistral Beach victims on Sunday (July 26) after he dove in fully clothed to help.
A number of people tried to help rescue the pair after they fell from some rocks into water below on Sunday evening at Fistral Beach in Newquay. The nightmare incident saw nine emergency vehicles, at least two lifeboarts, and a helicopter rush to the beach hailed as the home of British surfing, but it was still too little too late.
Despite the help of numerous bystanders and a fleet of paramedics, the rescue effort was still doomed, with a woman aged in her 30s and a man in his 60s – believed to be a daughter and her dad – both losing their lives. The area is well-known for having extremely strong and dangerous rip currents, particularly during outgoing tides. Locals said the sea currents were “very strong” on Sunday night.
It was bystander Jamie Stockwell, aged 47, who threw himself in the sea fully clothed as he tried to save the woman aged in her 30s. “I jumped in with all my clothes on. I didn’t realise how deep it was. It was very powerful swell, andI was lucky I wasn’t another casualty,” he told the Sun.
He said the woman was being battered ceaselessly against the rocks by the strong swell when he jumped in. “We were being hurled on to the rocks. I managed to push her up and her boyfriend pulled her up by the arms and started to try to give her mouth-to-mouth. “She had swallowed loads of salt water. We tried to give her CPR for about ten minutes. I was trying to keep her partner calm as he was in pieces.”
The woman’s father was pulled out of the water not far from where Stockwell had himself pulled the woman onto the sand. The man, aged in his 60s, was given CPR at the scene but also tragically died. It is understood the pair were part of a family on holiday in Cornwall at the time.
The Sun also reported that one witness – a local beach artist – claims the man had “gone in to try and rescue his daughter”.
Sand Phoenix, 33, said he “sprinted” up to help, jabbing the man with an adrenaline pen he had to hand and trying to give him oxygen. His attempts to save the man’s life were in vain, however, as the victim’s lungs were “full of water”.
Mr Phoenix, who was sleeping on the beach at the time of the incident, said: “He had been pulled out of the water but had been in there about seven minutes. “The paramedics arrived and carried on trying to give CPR. He was still wearing his trousers so I don’t think he had been swimming.
“It looks like they had been walking near the rocks and had fallen in.”
Another witness told the Sun: “A woman was desperately trying to ring someone but couldn’t get through [and] was in tears.
“There was a helicopter overhead and there was a lifeboat in the water. They recovered one body on the beach, while the other one was brought up the cliff. Another man came up soaking wet and in a foil blanket. He knew them and had been trying to help. I’m just in shock, it was awful to watch.”
Following news of their deaths, police urged the public to look for a “leather-style” handbag approximately 30cm by 30cm in size worn by the woman at the time of her death. The bag, described as “orange or peach in colour”, is said to contain a number of sentimental items that grieving family members “would take great comfort in being reunited with,” police said in a statement.