Brazilian tourist, 19, who drowned after getting into difficulty in the sea at Camber Sands
The teenager had been visiting family in Croydon and took a day trip to Camber Sands on Sunday
A 19-YEAR-OLD tourist who got into difficulty while swimming at Camber Sands died after he struggled to get back to shore.
The first pictures of Gustavo Silva da Cruz have emerged after he was seen in trouble about 50 metres out to sea and his body was later recovered.
Tragic photographs of emergency services carrying a body bag on to the beach suggested what was later confirmed - that one of the three people for whom a rescue operation was launched had died.
The three swimmers who got into difficulties in the waters off the Sussex coast prompted a major search and rescue operation after they were seen floundering in the water.
It is believed they were caught by a riptide.
Two other men, a 35-year-old and his 17-year-old son were rescued from the "choppy" sea and were dragged ashore, but the Brazilian teenager could not be found.
Eventually his body washed up on the beach at about 6.20pm yesterday, and he was identified by distraught family members.
He had been visiting family in Croydon and had travelled to Camber Sands to enjoy the warm weather.
Yesterday the Coastguard and RNLI warned visitors not to ignore red flag warnings not to bathe saying it could cost people their lives.
Guy Addington of the RNLI warned people not to bathe if there were red warning flags flying and to take extra care.
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He said: “During periods of good weather people are flocking to the coast. WE want to encourage that, but we want to encourage people to do that safely.
“No environment is without risks, not least the coast and the sea which can present lots of risks that people aren’t used to, particularly non-swimmers.
“Some of the incidents we have seen relate to not being proficient at swimming, under-estimating the effects of tide, current and offshore winds and over-estimating their capabilities in the water.”
He added: “The RNLI are desperate to make in-roads into the number of fatalities. So they key message is if you want to go to the coast find a life-guarded beach, take the advice of the lifeguards, swim between the flags and if red flags are flying that is “No Bathing” so don’t go in the water.”
The 35-year-old man and his 17-year-old son, who were visiting from London, remain in a critical but stable condition in hospital in Ashford in Kent.
Early reports they were stung by a school of jellyfish were confirmed by Sussex Police as being totally untrue.
Search teams from Dungeness and Rye, Coastguard rescue helicopters from Lydd and Solent, an RNLI lifeboat, beach lifeguards, and police, were involved in the search and rescue.
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