Man drowns in the water along Southend seafront

A man drowned in the Thames Estuary near Thorpe Bay yesterday evening.

The major incident unfolded at 5pm on Thursday evening, after emergency services were alerted to two men in the water, near Thorpe Bay Esplanade.

Local residents reported a dinghy the men were in had overturned. Multiple ambulances and police units were sent to the scene.

Southend RNLI led the rescue on the water using their hovercraft, their lifeboat and an inshore lifeboat. The RNLI rescued the first casualty from the water and handed them over to the Coastguard and emergency services.

The RNLI then also rescued the second casualty and commenced emergency CPR, before handing them over to emergency services on the beach.

Also dispatched to the incident were Coastguard Rescue Teams from Southend and Canvey Island, a Coastguard helicopter from Lydd, an Air Ambulance helicopter.

Essex Police have said that one of the men was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. The other man was rescued.

The man who died has been named by his family as Bill Blake – a fisherman who had lived in Southend-on-Sea all of his life.

A family member told Your Southend: “He will be missed very much, especially by his sisters.”

A spokesperson for Essex Police said: “Officers were called to Thorpe Bay Esplanade at around 5pm on Thursday, 5 October following reports of a concern for safety of two people in the water. Essex Police supported the Coastguard, and one man was rescued safely.

“Sadly, a man was pronounced dead at the scene. His death is not believed to be suspicious, and his family are aware.”

Our thoughts are with the man’s family and everyone affected by this tragic incident.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Chesham.