Haverfordwest: Police officer one of paddleboarders in fatal incident

A South Wales Police officer was among nine paddleboarders who got into trouble in a river on Saturday morning.

The incident on the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest left two women and a man, Paul O'Dwyer, dead. Another woman is in hospital, in a critical condition.

The force said "our thoughts are with the families of all those in this tragic incident".

Marine Accident and Investigation Branch inspectors have been deployed to conduct a preliminary assessment.

The other five members of the group, thought to be part of South Wales Paddle Boarders and Salty Dog Co according to PA Media, were rescued uninjured.

The Corps of the Royal Engineers tweeted a tribute to Mr O'Dwyer, adding he was a reservist with the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers until 2014.

"We send our deepest sympathy to his family and friends and to those of the others who lost their lives," the statement added.

Police said the river was flowing high and fast on the day of the incident.

Town councillor Thomas Tudor said there was an "out of the blue downpour" on Saturday morning.

Despite a yellow weather warning coming to an end on that morning, flood alerts remained in place on rivers in Pembrokeshire, including the eastern and western Cleddau catchment areas.

Dyfed-Powys Police said it was carrying out a "thorough investigation" to understand the precise conditions the group found themselves in and urged other paddleboarders to be aware of the weather conditions before venturing out.

Joel Williams, 20, was walking to the hairdressers at the time but "dived right in" when he saw the paddleboarders in trouble.

His mum, Natasha Williams, said: "He saw Paul first and tried to get a rope to him. As he was trying to get to Paul he saw a woman floating towards him.

"He gave the rope to a man and went in after the girl, he did CPR until the emergency services arrived."

Ms Williams said her son, who is a strong swimmer, was warned not to go in by people around him, but he said "I'm going anyway".

Ms Williams said after the five-minute rescue, he carried on his day - went back for his haircut and later went out for Halloween.

"We've always been proud of him," she added.

Floral tributes have been left at the side of the river, where the incident happened. Paul O'Dwyer was described by family and friends as "the life and soul of the party" who devoted much of his time to charities.

Neath Port Talbot councillor Matthew Crowley, who knew Mr O'Dwyer for most of his life, said: "Paul immersed so much of his time and energy into charities. Whenever there was a charity event Paul would be the first one in fancy dress, he'd be the first one with a ra-ra skirt on.

"He loved all that... helping people and raising a few pound for good, worthwhile causes in the community."

A 'paddle out' has been arranged on Aberavon beach Saturday 6 November by Aberavon Surf Club in Mr O'Dwyer's memory.

More than 20 police officers, as well as 30 firefighters from Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, including specialist water rescue technicians, were involved in the rescue.

Two fire service boats helped with bank and river searches, which also involved coastguard teams and helicopters.

The Welsh Ambulance Service also sent several ambulances to the scene and took the injured woman to nearby Withybush Hospital.

Clare Rutter, paddle boarding instructor and member of South Wales Paddleboarders, said "the main thing is always tell somebody your plans" when going out on excursions.

Putting phones in plastic waterproof cases for emergencies, wearing a buoyancy aid, dressing "for the temperature of the water", and training is also recommended she said.

First Minister Mark Drakeford was one of many to pay his respects to those involved in the incident.

He tweeted to say he was "deeply saddened" and his thoughts were with those who had lost loved ones in this "heart-breaking tragedy".