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Published:
June 24, 2009
Search
for missing swimmers called off in Weston and Burnham
A
huge search to find two swimmers who went missing in the sea at
Weston was called off on Wednesday afternoon (June 24th).
 No
sign of the swimmers has been found, despite extensive searches
of the coastline by Burnham's Coastguards, and lifeboat and hovercraft
crews.
An
RAF helicopter also joined in the rescue operation overnight after
the two men were reported to be missing at around 9pm on Tuesday.
The
swimmers, both in their 30s, had been spotted struggling in the
water after getting into the water in their boxer shorts near
Birnbeck Pier.
The
initial call to the Coastguard was made just after 9pm, and by
9.13pm the two men were believed to have been swept half a mile
offshore and were heard still shouting for help.
As
sunlight faded, two flares were fired from the beach by the Coastguard
in an effort to illuminate the scene.
 Burnham
Coastguard Station Officer Steve Bird told Burnham-On-Sea.com:
"The men had entered the water while their girlfriends remained
on the beach. Screams of help had been heard from the water shortly
before the pair went missing."
Both
Burnham's lifeboats were launched at around midnight to join the
search but no sign of the missing men was found and the operation
was scaled back at 3am.
The
search for the pair resumed at first light on Wednesday (June
24th) and both BARB's hovercrafts joined the search in the afternoon
alongside the two Burnham lifeboats.
Mr
Bird said: "Every effort was made to find the swimmers. We
have conducted as thorough a search as possible."
RELATED
LINKS:
Coastguard
website for Burnham-On-Sea
Hovercraft
website for Burnham-On-Sea
Lifeboats
website for Burnham-On-Sea
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