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Teenage girl among two dead after Cornwall sea rescues

Ocean Breeze RescueOcean Breeze
The coastguard helicopter landed on the beach between Porthtowan and Chapel Porth on Monday afternoon

A teenage girl trapped beneath a capsized boat and a man who was pulled out of the sea off the Cornwall coast have died, police said.

The girl was with three others who survived after their boat capsized on the Doom Bar near Padstow at about 12:45 BST.

In a separate rescue, a man was pulled from the sea near Constantine by an off-duty RNLI lifeguard.

Police said it had been "a very tough day for local emergency services".

The two deaths were among multiple incidents reported to emergency services over the bank holiday.

It comes after the RNLI suspended lifeguard patrols on UK beaches in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ch Insp Ian Thompson said: "These are extremely upsetting circumstances and our thoughts go out to all involved.

"It has been a very tough day for local emergency services."

The girl died after being airlifted to hospital and the man who had been struggling in the water at Treyarnon Bay at about 12:30 BST was pronounced dead at the scene.

Signs at Chapel Porth warn beachgoers about the lack of RNLI lifeguards
Signs at Chapel Porth warn beachgoers about RNLI lifeguards not being on duty

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In another incident a man is in a serious condition in hospital after being found face down in the water at Porthtowan.

Steve England, from surf magazine Carve, who was surfing, said he and others gave the man CPR and pulled him out of the water while waiting for the coastguard helicopter and a lifeboat to arrive.

"If we had a lifeguard on the beach we would have got oxygen to the casualty within two minutes but we had to wait 20 minutes," he said.

Other incidents were reported including some on social media at other locations such as one where a number of surfers struggled in a rip current and two kayakers got into difficulty on Sunday.

Peter Cash Chapel PorthPeter Cash
A man is in a serious condition in hospital after being pulled from the sea at Porthtowan

The RNLI said it had been dealing with an increased number of call outs and urged people to follow safety advice "if people chose to go into the water".

In a statement, it said: "We continue to do what we can to get a lifeguard service up and running as soon as possible.

"But it must be safe for our lifeguards and the public when the risk posed by coronavirus is still a very real threat."

The charity has since announced plans to patrol 70 beaches this summer rather than its usual 240 and is rolling out a reduced service "in phases" from the end of the month.