Hero swimmer helped two children during beach tragedy

Hero swimmer helped two children during beach tragedyImage source, Jamie Niblock/BBCImage caption, Members of HM Coastguard returned to lay flowers at the scene on Thursday eveningByLewis AdamsEssexPublished26 minutes agoWitnesses say a heroic day-tripper managed to haul two children back to shore during an incident where a mother and daughter drowned.Beverly Smit, 60, described the unnamed rescuer swimming out to sea three times as the tragedy unfolded in West Mersea, near Colchester, on Wednesday evening.Shally Rahman, 41, and Samiha Rahman, 15, were trying to rescue a seven-year-old boy from the water when they got into difficulty and died.Essex Police said the group, from Barking, east London, were all related to each other and the boy remained in hospital, fighting for his life.Recalling the moment the "Good Samaritan" sprung into action, Smit said: "They were calling for help and the children and adults were out there."He swam out, I think, three times. Two of the children he brought back were not in good condition."It's not an easy swim when the tide's coming in - you're swimming against the tide. The water [on Wednesday] was particularly quite cold."Image source, Family handoutImage caption, Samiha and Shally Rahman were on a holiday trip to West Mersea when the tragedy unfoldedThe mother and daughter died at the scene at about 17:35 BST, while the young boy was airlifted to the Royal London Hospital.Three others were taken by ambulance to another hospital.People have described how bystanders rushed to the water to help, including teenagers who worked at the nearby Seaview Beach Diner and an off-duty paramedic.Image source, Jamie Niblock/BBCImage caption, Leonie Powling was one of the young people working in the nearby cafe who rushed to helpLeonie Powling, 19, recalled watching people administer CPR to those pulled from the water."We wished we helped a bit more, but we did what we could," she said."...