 The Dorset Belle (left) and the Bournemouth Belle (right) moored in 2009 | |
| Date | 31 May 2023 |
|---|---|
| Location | Bournemouth, England |
| Coordinates | 50°42′58″N1°52′32″W / 50.716132°N 1.875442°W |
| Deaths | 2 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 8 |
On 31 May 2023, two people died and eight others were injured on the beach in Bournemouth, Dorset, England. A man was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, but following an investigation, police determined that no criminal offence had been committed in relation to the incident.
Bournemouth is one of the most popular beaches in the United Kingdom. [1] On 25 June 2020 during COVID-19 lockdown, a major incident was declared after half a million people descended on the beach. [2] In 2021, it was ranked the 5th best in Europe and among the top 25 in the world. [3]
At 4.07pm on 31 May 2023, emergency services were called to Bournemouth beach. [4] 10 people were rescued from the water. [5] Onlookers gave CPR to the victims. [6] A 17-year-old-boy from Southampton and a 12 year-girl from High Wycombe were pronounced dead at hospital. [7] The boy was transported to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and the girl was taken to Poole Hospital. [8]
The victims were not related. [9] Reports were made of a "rip tide". [10] Witnesses were urged not to share graphic footage of the incident online. [11] This was after reports of TikToks being filmed near the scene. The day following the beach continued to be packed full. [12]
Dorset Police said that no physical contact was made between the swimmers and any vessel or jet-ski and those involved had not been jumping off the pier. [13] Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Farrell thanked members of the public who helped people in trouble in the water. [14]
It was described as "one of the worst British seaside incidents in recent history". [15] The victims were named on 4 June. [16]
The pleasure boat the Dorset Belle was later impounded at Cobb's Quay in Poole Harbour. [17] The boat was put under police cordon. [18] The boat had reportedly not been on the water all week due to bad weather. [19] The vessel is a passenger boat built in Poole by J. Bolson in 1974. Operations moved to Cardiff Bay in 2002, before returning to serve Bournemouth Pier in 2021. [20] It was the first purpose built steel passenger boat to operate locally. [20] The Dorset Police said the impounding was "just one of several lines of inquiry. [21] On 23 June, the boat operator permanently ceased operations. [22] On 28 June it was reported that the boat had been sold. [23]
A man in his 40s, who Dorset police said "was on the water" at the time of the incident, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and later released under investigation. [24] The incident is being investigated by Dorset Police's Maritime Accident Investigation Branch and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. [25] On 2 June it was revealed that the Dorset Belle had returned to Bournemouth Pier at 4.40pm and 5.03pm. [20]
On 5 June 2023, an inquest at Dorset Coroner's Court was told there was a "suggestion" that a riptide may have led to the drownings. [21] Dorset Police said it was keeping an "open mind" about the circumstances that led to the deaths. [21]
On 6 June 2023, all boat operations to and from Bournemouth Pier were suspended pending the conclusion of the police investigation. [26] Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick defended the work of his force investigating the “complex” incident. [27]
On 27 June 2023, investigators said that no boat was involved in the incident. The Marine Accident Investigation Board (MAIB) said it would now not be pursuing any further inquiries. [28]
On 14 July, Dorset Police announced that no criminal offences had been committed in relation to the incident. [29]
In 2024, an inquest into the two deaths ruled them as accidental, and indicated that they had been caused by a rip tide. The coroner stated she was satisfied that no further measures would have prevented the deaths following an "unexpected anomaly of nature," and praised the actions of lifeguards. [30]
Tobias Ellwood, the Conservative MP for Bournemouth East, called on Dorset Police to give out more information for clarity. [31] Vikki Slade, the Liberal Democrat Leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council who had been elected on 24 May 2023, [32] said she would be discussing safety at the pier with Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns on 2 June. [33] [34] Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council will be assessing safety in the water near the pier. [35]
In September 2023, an art installation for the Bournemouth Arts by the Sea Festival was put up consisting of a 15 metre high illuminated archway. [36] It was created by the organisation Lucid Creates. [37] It was controversial due to the proximity to the beach. [38] It was removed after the victims families raised a complaint with BCP Council. [39]
As a result of the incident pleasure boats will not return to the pier for 2025. [40] Council leader Millie Earl announced that restoration works for Bournemouth Pier would be completed for 2026. [41]
Dorset is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south-east, the English Channel to the south, and Devon to the west. The largest settlement is Bournemouth, and the county town is Dorchester.
Bournemouth is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. The 2021 census built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest town in Dorset.
Poole is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is 21 miles (34 km) east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. The town had an estimated population of 151,500 making it the second-largest town in the ceremonial county of Dorset. Together with Bournemouth and Christchurch, the conurbation has a total population of nearly 400,000.
Poole Harbour is a large natural harbour in Dorset, southern England, with the town of Poole on its shores. The harbour is a drowned valley (ria) formed at the end of the last ice age and is the estuary of several rivers, the largest being the Frome. The harbour has a long history of human settlement stretching to pre-Roman times. The harbour is extremely shallow, with one main dredged channel through the harbour, from the mouth to Holes Bay.
Swanage is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately 6+1⁄4 miles (10 km) south of Poole and 25 miles (40 km) east of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 9,601. Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks, with Studland Bay and Poole Harbour to the north. Within the parish are Durlston Bay and Durlston Country Park to the south of the town. The parish also includes the areas of Herston, just to the west of the town, and Durlston, just to the south.
The Marchioness disaster was a collision between two vessels on the River Thames in London in the early hours of 20 August 1989, which resulted in the deaths of 51 people. The pleasure boat Marchioness sank after being hit twice by the dredger Bowbelle at about 1:46 am, between Cannon Street railway bridge and Southwark Bridge.
Dorset Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Dorset in South West England, which includes the largely rural area covered by Dorset Council, and the urban conurbation of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
Canford Heath is a suburb, an area of heathland, and an electoral ward in Poole, Dorset. It is known for being the largest heathland in Dorset, and the largest lowland heath in the UK. It is also the name of the housing development built on the heathland in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. At the 2021 census the population of the ward was 14,387.
Sandbanks Ferry is a vehicular chain ferry which crosses the entrance of Poole Harbour in the English county of Dorset. The route runs from Sandbanks to Studland and in doing so connects the coastal parts of the towns of Bournemouth and Poole with Swanage and the Isle of Purbeck. This avoids a 25-mile journey by road on a return trip.
The history of Bournemouth and human settlement in the surrounding area goes back for thousands of years. Bournemouth is a coastal town on the island of Great Britain in Dorset, England, United Kingdom.
The Bournemouth Air Festival is an annual air show held along the coast at Bournemouth, in Dorset, England. It has featured aircraft from the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, as well as civil aviation displays. Since its formation in 2008, the festival claims to have entertained over ten million people.
Martyn Underhill is a British independent politician and former police officer who served as the Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner from 2012 to 2021.
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service is a statutory emergency fire and rescue service covering the local authority areas of Wiltshire, Swindon, Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in England.
The Great Storm of 1824 was a hurricane force wind and storm surge that affected the south coast of England from 22 November 1824. The storm raged for two days.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, which styles itself BCP Council, is the local authority for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. It is independent from Dorset Council, the unitary authority which administers the rest of the county. The district was created on 1 April 2019 by the merger of the areas that were previously administered by the unitary authorities of Bournemouth and Poole, and the non-metropolitan district of Christchurch.
Middle Beach is a small beach on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England. The beach is located north of Studland and is owned by the National Trust.
On 10 December 2022, an explosion destroyed a block of flats in St Helier, Jersey in the Channel Islands. Ten people were killed in the suspected gas explosion, which occurred just before 4 a.m. GMT.
Gaia Pope, also known as Gaia Kima Pope-Sutherland,, was a British teenager who went missing in November 2017 at age 19. Her body was found 11 days after her disappearance.
On 12 March 2022, 21-year-old Thomas Roberts, from Bournemouth, Dorset, England, was murdered by Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai. Roberts was stabbed by Abdulrahimzai during an argument between Abdulrahimzai and Roberts' friend over an e-scooter in Bournemouth Town Centre.
Millie Clementine Earl is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has served as the leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council since 2024.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 2023 | |
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