Swimmer dies after getting caught in rip tide at Norfolk beach

A man has died at a beach in Norfolk after a group of swimmers got caught up in a rip tide on Saturday.

The 54-year-old was pulled from the water unconscious along with another man at Sea Palling.

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An RNLI spokesperson said that members of the public pulled them out of the sea.

The 54-year-old man died at the scene while the 26-year-old man was airlifted to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital and is in a stable condition.

Both men were treated in cardiac arrest by paramedics from the East of England Ambulance Service.

According to the Press Association, three helicopters, three ambulances and two RNLI boats attended the scene shortly before midday.

The RNLI said that two other swimmers, a 16-year-old boy and a man in his 20s, were part of the group that got into difficult but made their way out of the water themselves.

A coastguard spokeswoman told the BBC: "Quite a number of people went into the water to help. There were two people that needed medical attention."

Tim Ash, from the RNLI, said: "Two of the lifeguards were on the shoreline and they ran down – when they got there the four casualties were all on land."

Speaking to Eastern Daily Press, beachgoer Christine Barnard, 62, said: "They were performing CPR for ages - I would think about half an hour - they didn't want to give up."

Mrs Barnard added that she believes there should be more signs warning of rip tides in the area.

"I've been in one and you can't stand up, it pulls you over," she said.