Coastguard Search Called Off After Two Men Missing Following Christmas Day Sea Swim in Devon
Two men, aged in their 40s and 60s, went missing after a Christmas Day sea swim at Budleigh Salterton, Devon. Emergency services were alerted at 10:25 on Christmas Day, and some swimmers were rescued and treated, with one person taken to hospital as a precaution.
The coastguard search involved Exmouth and Beer coastguard teams, RNLI lifeboats from Exmouth, Teignmouth and Torbay, coastguard helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, as well as police and ambulance services. Rescue and search operations continued along shorelines and offshore before being stood down at 17:00, with onshore inquiries ongoing and families informed. The two men are believed to still be in the water.
Several Christmas and Boxing Day swims in Devon and Cornwall were cancelled this year due to a yellow wind warning on Christmas Day. Weather warnings and wind conditions led to these cancellations, and police urged people not to swim on Boxing Day despite no official warning being in place.
Devon and Cornwall police Detective Superintendent Hayley Costar described the incident as tragic and extended thoughts to the families and witnesses.
