Dramatic rescue of three tourists stuck on rock in Cornwall

A dramatic rescue of three tourists has been carried out in Cornwall after they became stuck on a rock with the rising sea surrounding them.

The walkers were rescued with just "minutes" to go until they would have been swamped by the incoming tide.

The Newquay inshore lifeboat and the Newquay and Padstow Coastguard crew were scrambled shortly before 3pm on Sunday to rescue the three people who got in to trouble while walking between Whipsiderry beach and Watergate Bay, near Newquay.

According to the Cornish Guardian, a witness said: "They only had minutes to get in to lifeboat and even then the waves were so strong that the lifeboat crew were nearly pulled in

"Within minutes of them being pulled to safety the area they were standing on was flooded.

"They were very lucky."

Padstow Coastguard tweeted a picture of the nerve-wracking rescue and described the walkers as students.

RT @NewquayRNLI: 3 students trapped by tide near Whipsiderry rescued from rocks by @RNLI crew Credit @CornishGuardian pic.twitter.com/JcPo22e1eX
- RNLI (@RNLI) November 23, 2014

It is though the two men and one woman lost track of time while walking between Whipsiderry Beach and Watergate Bay.

Rescuers first of all tried to save the group using a harness from above, but rocks started giving away and the idea was abandoned.

Two rigid-inflatable boats (RIB) were sent to the scene, and they just managed to climb in the boats, surrounded by giant waves.

It is though the two men and one woman lost track of time while walking between Whipsiderry Beach and Watergate Bay.

Rescuers first of all tried to save the group using a harness from above, but rocks started giving away and the idea was abandoned.

Two rigid-inflatable boats (RIB) were sent to the scene, and they just managed to climb in the boats, surrounded by giant waves.

According to the Mirror, a spokesman from the UK Coastguard said: "When going on the beach or the coast we ask people to please make sure they check the tide times and have an exit strategy."

Watergate Bay is just three miles from Mawgan Porth, where three surfers lost their lives after getting caught in a riptide in October.