Rescuers have recounted the intense experience of discovering a British brother and sister, aged 11 and 13, who had passed away, along with their tired father, who was still alive in the 'stormy' Spanish waters.
The children sadly died following an incident while swimming in the water near Llarga beach in Salou, Tarragona, on Tuesday evening.
Earlier reports stated that two brothers had died, but officials confirmed this afternoon that the deceased children were a girl and a boy.
Inspector Jose Luis Gargallo, chief of the Salou police department, stated that the first 112 call indicated three individuals had drowned.
He stated: "Local police arrived at the location and observed that there were indeed three individuals who were genuinely having difficulty exiting the water."
He was a father accompanied by his son and daughter, all of them British.
When the young ones, a boy and a girl who were 11 and 13 years old, were pulled from the water, they showed no signs of life, and every attempt to revive them failed.
The father had a chance of survival. He had inhaled a significant amount of water and was very tired, but he could be rescued due to the efforts of the emergency medical personnel and police.
We are discussing a family that has five children, and the mother was staying at a nearby hotel with the other three children.
The father was with the two children who passed away.
Throughout the day, a yellow flag was displayed at the beach, indicating the risk of rough seas, which is the reason the flag was raised.
During the tragedy, the sea remained unchanged from two or three hours prior, indicating it was a turbulent sea.
That's why you need to be cautious with the ocean. The beach where this took place typically provides ideal swimming conditions, as the sea is usually very calm.
Yesterday, this beach and others in the area were not like that. Just a few hours before, another person had died under very similar circumstances.
He stated, "The lifeguards are present at the beach where these British teenagers lost their lives until 8pm. Their shift begins at 9:30am."
Unfortunately, this alert arrived at 8:48 pm, 48 minutes after the lifeguard service had concluded.
This was an accident, but as is usually the case with such incidents, a detailed inquiry will be conducted to determine if there are areas that can be enhanced and if so, changes will be made.
He further mentioned that local police officers entered the water in an attempt to rescue the children.
One of the officers, known only by his first name and the initial of his last name, Younes A, stated: "A hotel employee was attempting to pull one of the three out of the water when we arrived."
We were informed when we assisted in getting that individual out that two more people were in the water who might be minors.
We attempted to find them, spotted fragments of clothing, and shortly after managed to locate and pull a young girl from the water, starting resuscitation efforts. Another police team was responsible for retrieving the other child from the sea.
When the emergency responders arrived, they assumed responsibility for trying to rescue them until they concluded there was nothing further they could do.
We are unaware of the events that led to their current problems.
I jumped into the water along with two other coworkers to secure the father's safety first, then returned to save one of the children.
He stated, "There were waves and wind. It was hazardous. There was significant swells."
Local footage released yesterday depicted a helicopter hovering over the beach, where a white tent was set up on the sand to cover the remains of the two children.
Emergency services remained on site past sunset until court officials gave permission to transport the bodies to a local morgue for autopsies.
The officials stated that the deaths represent the 15th and 16th casualties on Catalan shores since the summer initiative officially started on June 15.
The number has surpassed by five the figures recorded during the same time last summer.
Last summer, 11 fatalities were recorded on Catalan shores.
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