Bournemouth beach: Police statement after Southampton teenager dies

Officers have confirmed that there is "no suggestion" of people jumping from Bournemouth pier or of jet skis being involved in the incident that led to the deaths.

At the press conference hosted at Bournemouth International Centre today, Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Farrell confirmed that the 17-year-old boy was from Southampton and the 12-year-old girl was from Buckinghamshire.

Eight other people involved in the incident on Wednesday afternoon were treated by ambulance at the scene.

READ MORE: Boy, 17, who died off Bournemouth beach was from Southampton

A man in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

Assistant Chief Constable Farrell said: "I would sincerely like to thank members of the public who helped people in trouble in the water.

"I’m also very grateful to the wider beach-goers who really quickly moved from the beach and allowed emergency services to do their work."

Flowers laid at Bournemouth beach following the tragedy (Image: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)

She has urged people not to speculate about what happened, adding that people should send any images to police rather than sharing on social media.

"As you can imagine, we are at the early stages of our investigation," she said.

"And we would ask people not to speculate about the circumstances surrounding the incident to both protect our inquiries and out of respect for the victims and their families.

"We are aware of a number of videos circulating on social media and we would urge people to refrain from doing this.

"We know the beach was very busy when the incident occurred. I am today urging anyone who saw what happened or has any information that may assist to please come forward.

"If anyone has relevant phone footage then they can contact Dorset Police through our major incident public portal where they can upload the images and we will share the links on social media.

"This operation is named Operation Marble. So please share the images with the police rather than on social media."

Dorset Police Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Farrell at the press conference in Bournemouth (Image: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)

READ MORE: Children who died after beach incident were not hit by jet ski or boat, police say

READ MORE: Man arrested as girl, 12, and boy, 17, die after incident in water off Bournemouth

Talking about the arrested man, ACC Farrell said: "Following our initial inquiries, a man aged in his 40s who was on the water at the time, has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

"As we have a person in custody, you will know there is only limited information I can give about the investigation.

"However, to avoid further speculation, I am able to tell you that it’s clear that yesterday a number of people already in the water got into difficulty and we are investigating the circumstances or event that caused that to happen.

"Early investigation indicates that there was no physical contact between a vessel and any of the swimmers at the time of the incident.

"I can also confirm there is no suggestion of people jumping from the pier or jet-skis being involved."