Two teenage brothers are believed to have died after getting into difficulty at sea on a family day out to the Lancashire seaside.
Muhammad Azhar Shabbir, 18, and Ali Athar Shabbir, 16, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, got into difficulty after going into the sea at Lytham St Annes on Saturday.
After an extensive search and rescue operation, two bodies were found about a mile from the pier. The bodies have yet to be formally identified but police believe they are the two brothers.
Their 15-year-old cousin managed to swim to shore and was being treated in hospital for hypothermia, his family told a BBC reporter at the scene on Saturday night.
Coastguard rescue teams from Lytham and Fleetwood and the coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Caernarfon were part of the search operation. They were joined by RNLI lifeboats from Lytham St Annes and Blackpool, the independent rescue service Southport Lifeboat, Lancashire police and the north-west ambulance service.
HM Coastguard tweeted: “Our thoughts are with Muhammad and Ali’s family and friends during this incredibly difficult time.”
Lancashire constabulary said the family had been informed and were being supported by trained officers. A spokeswoman said: “Our thoughts remain with them at this incredibly sad and difficult time.”
