Mother and daughter named as sea tragedy victims
16 minutes agoEmma PetrieEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
Family HandoutA man who died trying to save two people from the sea in East Yorkshire on Friday was attempting to rescue a mother and her teenage daughter, Humberside police said.
Officers said 67-year-old Mark Ratcliffe entered the water at Withernsea to try and save 45-year-old Sarah Keeling and 15-year-old Grace Keeling.
In a tribute, Mr Ratcliffe’s family said he was “a true selfless hero with a heart of gold, who was so cruelly taken trying to save others”.
Police said the bodies of Sarah Keeling and Mark Ratcliffe were recovered on Friday evening, and officers were still searching to locate Grace.
Mr Ratcliffe’s family said: “So many lives are now shattered that you’re gone. You were loved by so many people, and we will all miss you forever.
“A loving husband, father, son, brother and the best grandad anybody could ever wish for. Sleep tight, we love you, we miss you.”
Mr Ratcliffe’s son, in a Facebook post, thanked the RNLI, HM coastguards and the emergency services who had done “all they could” and worked tirelessly and relentlessly in awful weather conditions.
“Bye Dad, I miss you and I will never forget the true hero and role model you were,” he wrote.
Police said both families were being supported by specially trained officers.
BBC/Joe BiltonAt 15:10 GMT on Friday, the coastguard responded to reports of “a number of people in difficulty” in the water.
What followed was a huge search and rescue operation involving about 100 emergency workers, a rescue helicopter, air ambulance and RNLI crews from Withernsea, Bridlington, Skegness and Hornsea Inshore Rescue.
The coastguard stood down their search at 16:00 on Saturday afternoon.
The RNLI thanked members of the public who they said had “assisted and supported” the emergency services.
“This is a very tragic incident and our thoughts are with the families, friends and all those impacted,” they said in a statement on Sunday.
BBC/Becki BowdenPaul Whitehead, owner of Castle Cafe on the promenade said he had handed three minutes of CCTV footage taken from the front of the cafe over to the police.
Mr Whitehead said several people ran across to help including two members of his staff. He said a lifebelt at the foot of the towers on the seafront was thrown into the sea to help the young woman but the undertow took her away.
“It’s just an accident,” he said, “a tragic accident, and it has affected the town deeply.”
Mr Whitehead said he had lit three candles in St Matthew’s Methodist church on Sunday, one for each of the three victims.
Services took place at the church earlier to allow people to reflect on what had happened.
People have also placed flowers on the promenade.
Janice Holgate, who travelled from Hull, said it had been “absolutely devastating” to hear what had happened.
“I had to pay my respects just to let the families know that people are thinking about them,” she said.
Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices