Search for two men missing after Christmas Day swim called off

The search operation carried out by the coast guard to find two people who disappeared at sea while swimming on Christmas Day has been cancelled.

Emergency services were called to Budleigh Salterton in Devon shortly after 10:25 GMT on Thursday.

While some people were brought back to shore, Two men in their 40s and 60s have not been located.

The coast guard stopped the search in the water at 17:00, but the police said that the investigations on the shore continued until the evening. The men’s families were informed.

While there is no official weather warning for Boxing Day, some sea ​​swims canceled Devon and Cornwall police appealed to people not to enter the water.

Residents of the small town described the incident as “shocking” and “tragic”.

“I’ve never witnessed anything like this,” said John Smyley, who lives near the beach.

He described it as a “particularly cold day” in the town and said the sea “looked wild”.

“This is so shocking and sad, especially on Christmas Day,” he added.

Julia Robb was on the beach shortly before the men disappeared.

“[The sea] “It was tougher than I’ve ever seen, but there were a lot of people on the beach and a lot of people coming in,” he said.

“As people moved forward, the waves were passing over them, but everyone was so cheerful, falling down and getting up again.

“The waves were big enough to pass over people, so I estimate they were 1.5-6 metres. [1.5-1.8m] You’d probably be covered in waves as soon as you walked in.

“It’s just tragic,” he added.

“What happened on Christmas Day is so sad, you just feel the pain of the families.”

Ashley Stoneman and Kelsey Jessup took part in the swimming race in Budleigh Salterton.

“You knew there was an atmosphere that this was dangerous,” Mr. Stoneman said.

“Everybody’s looking at each other and saying, ‘How far are we going to go, how long are we going to be in?’ he thought.

“I’m sure a few people looked at it and thought: not today.”

Ms Jessup said they initially thought the cold weather would be the dangerous part of the day, but then saw “crazy waves” as they walked along the shoreline.

“All of a sudden it was like Poseidon was throwing a tantrum here as giant waves crashed,” he added.

Det Supt Hayley Costar, of Devon and Cornwall Police, described the incident as “truly tragic” in a statement on Thursday.

“Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the two men currently missing and everyone who witnessed and was affected by the incident,” he added.