Student drowns at Fistral Beach Newquay

Last Sunday the 27th June will be a day most England football fans will want to try and forget, but following the defeat against Germany the disappointment was soon brought into perspective as we watched from a headland looking over Fistral beach, Newquay, as a life or death drama unfolded.

We watched as the Lifeguards, Coastguards, RNLI, police and Navy air sea rescue all joined in a search for what later emerged was a missing swimmer. Heres a brief summary from the BBC:

"The alarm was raised by a surfer who spotted a man and woman in trouble in the water at Fistral Beach in Newquay at about 1645 BST.

The surfer rescued the woman but was unable to reach the 22-year-old Indonesian student from Newcastle University.


The Indonesian woman, who has not been named, is in a stable condition at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Treliske."

We heard that the student got into difficulties in the heavy shorebreak at North Fistral where a solid 4ft swell was running, and he most likely was caught in a rip and disappeared.


For more info on ocean saftey and rips try these 2 resources:

Rips-wikipedia
Surfing safety