[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-22674418

Dozens of people taking part in a charity sea swim off Suffolk had to be rescued after getting into difficulty.

More than 130 swimmers in Southwold had problems, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) confirmed.

Four RNLI lifeboats and a rescue helicopter were involved from about 13:00 BST, after initial reports that up to 90 people were missing.

Two people were taken to James Paget Hospital in Gorleston with suspected hypothermia, the MCA spokeswoman added.

The organisers of the race have not yet commented on the rescue operation.

Coastguards were concerned for a woman from Kettering, Northamptonshire, who remained unaccounted for, but she contacted them soon after 17:00 BST.

Southwold Pier Swimmers appeared to get caught in strong currents around the pier

The MCA spokeswoman said it was unclear how the swimmers got into trouble as weather conditions were fine, but the water was "very cold".

Some swimmers were rescued by lifeboat while a number of people swam to the shore themselves, she said.

Darren Skidmore, of Hertford, who was competing in the Pier to Pub Swim, said: "It was quite daunting and tough.

"I probably swam a mile in the wrong direction because of the current, but fair play to the RNLI as they were fantastic. I was picked up from the water after about an hour-and-a-half."

Eyewitnesses spoke of exhausted swimmers coming out of the sea and being wrapped in towels, while a lifeboat hut close to the pier was turned into a makeshift emergency centre.

Daniel Darlington, from Hampton, Middlesex, said: "Dozen of swimmers, at least 30 or more, appeared to be struggling with the currents around the pier.

"Some were picked up by rescue boats, it looked as if others realising the difficulties swam straight to shore."

Organised by Active Outdoor Sport, the swim started north of the pier and was due to finish a mile down the coast.

They are yet to comment.

Sounds like a complete organisational shambles with disaster averted only by the response of the RNLI, who might well have been required to attend a genuine maritime emergency .....

[King Gizzard]

wtf has gotten into this county the last year

[Ammi]

..we almost went down to Southwold yesterday and then had a last minute change of plan...there was a guy missing..did they find him..is he ok, does anyone know..?...

[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-22685642

The organiser of a charity sea swim in Suffolk in which dozens of people had to be rescued said starting the race was the "wrong decision".

More than 130 swimmers got into difficulty during Southwold's Pier-to-Pub swim on Sunday and had to be pulled to safety by the emergency services.

Two people were taken to hospital with suspected hypothermia.

Organiser Simon Edwards said the outcome could have been "a lot worse" had it not been for the coastguard.

Sunday's race began half an hour late, meaning people were caught by strong currents as the high tide moved back out.

Mr Edwards, of Active Outdoor Sport, told the BBC: "The first thing that went through my mind was that perhaps the decision to start the race was the wrong decision.

"We can call the event off at any stage and although we had swimmers waiting ready to start for 30 minutes, the key decision was to start the race at that time.

"Hindsight is a great thing and if I was to do the whole thing again under the same circumstances then I would have made different decisions.

"If it hadn't been for the coastguard and the RNLI taking control of the situation it could have certainly been a lot worse."

Mr Edwards also apologised to the swimmers in an online statement, adding that he would be reviewing the incident with the coastguard and RNLI.

Simon Callaghan, helmsman at Southwold Lifeboat, said: "We can carry a maximum of 23 people on board the lifeboat and we had 21 people at one time.

"We were just ferrying them as close to the beach as we could and then getting them to swim ashore where they could meet up with the emergency services.

"It was good conditions really - it wasn't a very big sea - but I think the main factor was the tide. They were swimming against possibly two and a half knots of tide which is quite draining."

Luckily no-one died - it could have been so much worse .....