Four people sustained serious injuries on a chaotic day at a Dorset beach, which saw thousands evacuated as police closed the beauty spot.
Lulworth Coastguard Rescue Team (CRT) have shared a detailed account of the events that unfolded at Durdle Door on the afternoon of Saturday, May 30.
Emergency services including South Western Ambulance Service and Dorset Police were called to the beach, two hours from Bristol, at 3.30pm to reports of someone jumping into the water from the 70ft high limestone arch.
Lulworth CRT located the casualty at the bottom of the steps that lead to the beach and assisted with treatment being carried out by medics already on the scene.
A landing site was then made for the helicopter, forcing the thousands of sunbathers to move into one section of the beach, as the picture above highlights.
Paramedics were then made aware of a second casualty further along the beach, which they found to be someone else who had jumped into the water from a height, egged on by the crowds.
Both casualties were flown to the major trauma centre at Southampton General Hospital with "very serious" injuries.
Police then took the decision to close the beach, asking the crowds to leave.
Third and fourth casualties
A third casualty was then discovered, the statement continues.
The person had also jumped from the limestone arch and injured his torso in doing so.
An ambulance crew - one of five on site - dealt with his injuries and took him to Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester.
But the busy day was not over for the dozens of emergency workers on site, as a fourth casualty was found on high ground above Durdle Door.
The woman had a suspected broken ankle but paramedics deemed a stretcher carry to be "too risky" due to gradient of the hill.
A helicopter rescue team from St Athan, Glamorgan - more than 100 miles away - was sent to the scene to deal with the casualty.
They flew her to the top of the hill and transferred her to a land ambulance.
While paramedics tended to the injured people, police had to deal with "alcohol fuelled minor scuffles" and a "small but out of control fire from a BBQ," according to Lulworth CRT's statement.
Pictures show the beauty spot is packed again today (March 31) despite yesterday's events.
Warning against tombstoning
The detailed account of what happened, shared on Lulworth CRT's Facebook page, concludes with a warning against the dangers of tombstoning, the act of jumping in a into the sea or other body of water from a high platform.
It reads: "We understand that four individuals jumped from Durdle Door (some 70ft) yesterday, encouraged by the crowds on the beach.
"Two of which are now seriously injured.
"Upsetting scenes like we and many others witnessed yesterday illustrate how very dangerous tombstoning is - we couldn’t discourage it enough.
"Thank you everyone who helped in one way or another yesterday including the Lulworth Estate staff who, as usual, were integral to keeping traffic flowing aiding emergency vehicles entering the area.
"We wish all the casualties the very best.
"We would also like to reiterate our thanks to the vast majority of beach goers who were patient and cooperative in what was very difficult situation."
