Man and woman die after being pulled from sea
BBCA man and a woman have died after getting into trouble in the sea off a popular beach.
The two people were pulled from the water off Fistral Beach in Newquay, Cornwall, at about 21:45 BST on Sunday, about 15 minutes after HM Coastguard said rescue personnel were called.
Devon and Cornwall Police said both the man who was in his 60s and a woman in her 30s were confirmed dead at the scene.
Search and rescue teams from Newquay, Padstow and St Agnes took part in the operation, along with lifeboats from Newquay RNLI and a coastguard helicopter.
Police said their families had been informed and a file would be prepared for the coroner.
"Our thoughts are with them at this extremely difficult time," officers added.
Mayor Drew Creek said the news was "awful" and "everyone in Newquay was feeling sombre".
"We're all feeling the loss of the individuals yesterday," he added.
"They were down on holiday we understand and [this is] not the way you would want anyone's holiday here in Newquay to be.
"Our thoughts and our feelings go out to the families affected."
"We heard the helicopter quite low over the bay and of course whenever you hear that as a resident your heart sinks because you know that they are out there for a reason and I suppose our worst fears were realised this morning when we woke up to the news."
Creek said it was a "challenging time" for the community and expressed "a huge thank you" to emergency services and rescue teams.
Fistral Beach is one of busiest beaches in the country and a surfing hotspot.
The beach is known as the home of British surfing and often hosts major national and international competitions such as Boardmasters.
Kai Bishop was at home but heard the coastguard helicopter and saw the "terrible" events unfold via the beach's webcam and was "lost for words".
He said conditions at the beach could change "within a blink of an eye" and urged people to not go into the sea if they were unsure.
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