A man in his 60s died after running into the sea to help two relatives at Tregirls Beach near Padstow in Cornwall on bank holiday Monday afternoon. The incident happened at about 15:50 BST, and the man suffered a cardiac arrest after reportedly entering the water.
Devon and Cornwall Police said the two relatives were brought to safety by other people on the beach, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. The force said he lived locally, and a file was being prepared for the coroner.
The details point to a fast-moving emergency that turned fatal within minutes. Police said the relatives had got into difficulty, and the man's decision to try to help them became the moment that cost him his life.
There is no name for the man in the police account, and that is part of what gives the case its weight. He was a local man, in his 60s, dead where he fell after a rescue attempt on a crowded holiday afternoon. The coroner will now examine the death, while the beach is left with one of those moments that can happen suddenly and then linger long after the tide has moved on.
