Wednesday saw the death of five young men in their teens and 20s who drowned after getting caught on a sandbar.
The five men have been named as:
- Kenugen Saththiyanathan, 18, Erith
- Kobikanthan Saththiyanathan 22, Erith
- Nitharsan Ravi, 22, Plumstead
- Inthushan Sriskantharaja, 23, Grays
- Gurushanth Srithavarajah, 27, Welling
It is believed the Londoners were playing football on a sandbank when the tide suddenly rushed in, catching them off guard. Two of the men became stuck in the wet sand- which acted like quicksand- as the other three tried to save them. All five died after drowning.
Over 5,500 people have signed a petition to call for the local council at Camber Sands to hire life guards at the beach. Currently, Camber Sands draws in over 25,000 visitors a day. According the RNLI, “the charity that saves lives at sea,” recents storms may have deepened the sandbanks, leading to the deaths.
However, this is not the first beach death at Camber Sands. Last month, Gustavo Silva Da Cruz, a nineteen-year-old from Brazil, died while swimming in the waters too.
A spokesperson for the Rother District Council said: “While it’s very upsetting to see two similar, tragic incidents this summer, over the years these kind of incidents are extremely rare…
“Although it’s too early to draw any conclusions from this latest incident, in recent years we have seen a change in the make-up of visitors to Camber, including more people from outside the area who are not familiar with the sea and the dangers it can pose.”
