British teen drowns on first day of holiday in France

Updated
British teen drowns on first day of holiday in France
British teen drowns on first day of holiday in France

A missing British teenager feared drowned off the south-west coast of France has been named as Kieran Knight, reports the Press Association.

The Foreign Office has issued a statement on behalf of the 16-year-old's family.

It said: "On Wednesday July 24, while holidaying with his family on the Atlantic coast in south-west France, Kieran Knight, aged 16, got caught by a strong undercurrent and was unable to make his way back to shore.

Despite extensive ongoing searches by the French authorities, Kieran has not been located. Kieran's family would like to request privacy at this time to come to terms with this tragic event concerning their much-loved son".

French officials had said earlier this week that rescue workers were alerted to the boy's disappearance near the town of Messanges, in the Landes region, on Wednesday afternoon.

It is understood that Kieran was swimming with his father when they found themselves in difficulty and that while the father was able to reach the shore on his own, Kieran disappeared," it said. A patrol boat and three helicopters were deployed to search for the boy, but without success.

The Daily Telegraph reports that the pair were swimming around 150 metres off the beach in an unsupervised area. A coastguard spokesman told the newspaper that the stretch of coast was extremely dangerous because of fast currents and strong winds. At the time, there was a "very strong" tide, he said.

The boy was on the first day of his summer holiday with his family.

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