Two people have been rushed to hospital after emergency services raced to a busy beach following 'major incident'.
An air ambulance scrambled to Bournemouth beach this afternoon before emergency services evacuated crowds from the area.
Onlookers say they saw three young men, possibly teenagers, being carried out to sea in the incident just after 4.30pm. One witness told the Mirror at least one patient received CPR on the sand.
A spokesman for local police said: "Dorset Police received a report at 4.32pm on Wednesday 31 May 2023 from the ambulance service requesting assistance on the beach off Bournemouth Pier.
"Officers are currently in attendance clearing the area to assist HM Coastguard and the ambulance service, who are dealing with the incident."
Multiple emergency service vehicles were potted at the scene.
South Western Ambulance Service confirmed two people were taken to hospital following the "sea incident".
A woman on a day out with her family said paramedics treated one person on the sand, and then another victim around 10 minutes later.
Ritta Saruchera said her daughter and her friend were in the sea at the time when they saw what happened.
She said: "They were coming back out of the water when they saw a teenage boy struggling. There was another one floating in the water.
"We went to get help from the lifeguard and inform them of what was happening. There were three young men out there and they have been searching for a fourth."
Paul Moyce, 61, said he believed those involved had been jumping into the sea off the pier.
He said: "I think they went off the end of the pier and went out too far. They must have got caught by the current. I lived here for 61 years band I've never seen anything like it."
A local resident posted on social media: "My daughter is there. She rang me to say they were doing CPR on someone from the water, she thinks there are more."
Another witness, a mother who was visiting with her baby, saw emergency services started to arrive.
Writing on Twitter at around 6pm, one man posted: "At least one person receiving CPR"
The woman, called Eemen, heard the lifeguards running across the beach telling people to clear the area because the air ambulance needed to land.
She said lifeguards were searching the sea and there were also lifeguards on Jetski-type vessels.
Eemen, from Southampton, Hampshire, said lifeguards blocked off an section of the beach with windbreaks and chairs.
She was told by emergency services that it is a "major incident".
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service said: "We were called to East Beach, Bournemouth at 4.39pm to support a multi-agency incident.
"We have crews in attendance from Westbourne and Springbourne, together with a technical rescue team from Poole."
A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said: “We were called at 16:07 on Wednesday 31 May to a sea incident in Bournemouth. We sent x2 air ambulances, x6 double-crewed land ambulances, x1 critical care car, x2 operations officers, x1 doctor, x1 hazardous area response team and x1 responding officer.
“We conveyed two patients to Royal Bournemouth Hospital and Poole Hospital.”
Cordons remained in place at around 6.30pm, and it was unclear when these will be lifted.
HM Coastguard has been approached for further information.
Buses have been diverted in the area while the heavy emergency vehicle presence deals with the incident.
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