Essex Police has today confirmed a mum and her daughter - named as Shelina Rahman, 41, and Samiha, 15, died - after getting into difficulty in water on Mersea Island12:24, 23 Jul 2026Updated 20:47, 23 Jul 2026Girl and woman in 40s die at Mersea Island beachIt was supposed to be a fun family day during the start of the school holidays.‌The balmy 21C day and tranquil water should have been the backdrop for a perfect summer holiday outing for the Rahman family but now they are grieving Shelina and her 15-year-old daughter Samiha.‌Shelina and Samiha had tried in vain to save Samiha's seven-year-old cousin from the water at West Mersea Island Beach in Essex. The mother and daughter, though, got caught in the high tide and, despite the the valiant efforts of teenagers on the beach, were pronounced dead at the scene. The little boy is fighting for his life in hospital.‌Mersea is one of the most obscurely located islands in the country, because its accessibility is largely dictated by the ever-changing tides. Twice a day the single road in and out of the island becomes flooded, with some unlucky holidaymakers finding themselves trapped for up to four hours at a time.The stunning West Mersea beach was largely quiet today, with a handful of beach hut owners trying their best to enjoy the overcast, 21C conditions. The golden sand stretched about 30metres from the shore to the top of the beach, with three sand spits stretching another 20metres into the open sea. The tidal nature of the island meant it was easy for non-locals to find themselves stranded on the spits, with the quickly rising water acting like a pincer, and pulling its unlucky victims out, away from the shore.‌'Little one got into trouble then the other one tried to save her'Emotional tributes have tonight been paid to 41-year-old teacher Shelina, known to family as Shally. Matiur Rahman, Shelina's brother-in-law, told of the shock the extended family was feeling. He said: "We all feel very bad, my four brothers, my sister... My whole family - we are speechless. We can't believe what we heard. We are very shocked."Paying respects to his sister-in-law, who lived in east London with her family, Mr Rahman told the BBC: "Shally was a helpful person. She was a housewife and looked after the kids. She was very good actually."Family friend Mishba Uddin, of Colchester, Essex, visited the scene on Thursday and told reporters the relatives involved in the incident had come down for the day from east London and Barking.‌He said he heard that "the little one got into trouble then the other one tried to save" her. He added that the family were "just a working class family going for a day out".Mr Uddin said: "We as a whole community are in shock actually." He said the father is a doctor from Bangladesh heritage, but he "only knows the grandfather very well." The added: "They are a very nice and likeable family."Naz Shah, the MP for Bradford West, who knows the family who died and has previously been supported by their family has spoken of her heartbreak at the situation. She said: "I'm devastated. They're a lovely, lovely family, I'm absolutely heartbroken for them, it's sent shockwaves through the community. I just can't believe what's happened. I've spoken to the family, and I just broke down - I've got a 14-year-old myself."‌Essex Police said officers believe "they were trying to help a seven-year-old boy who had got into difficulties," and the Mirror understands this to be Samiha's cousin - Shelina's nephew. Police were called by the ambulance service at 5.35pm on Wednesday after reports that several people had got into difficulty in the water near Seaview Avenue, West Mersea, Essex.Witness describes distressing scenesBeach hut owner Beverly Smit, 60, of West Mersea in Essex, said she heard the emergency response and went to see what was going on.‌Ms Smit, who works for a local dentist, said: "By that time they were re-sussing the person on the beach, the helicopters were still in the fields."She said that she spoke to a day tripper who had rented a neighbouring beach hut and had tried to help. She said: "He saw and they were calling for help and the children and adults were out there. He swam out I think three times."Two of the children he brought back were not in good condition. It's not an easy swim when the tide's coming in, you're swimming against the tide, the water yesterday was particularly quite cold."‌The beach hut owner added that she and members of her rowing club have helped save people in the sea previously. Ms Smit described the incident as a "massive scale of rescue and tragedy really".Other local residents and witnesses described the tragedy as a "nightmare". Rita Coombs, who lives in West Mersea, said she saw emergency services helping a group of people on the beach. She told the BBC: "It was absolutely horrific. I can't praise the emergency services [enough]. It was beyond all belief - they worked so hard. She said she tried to support emergency services during the "nightmare that was unfolding.""The feeling was we just wanted to go out and help. Our hearts were going out to those people fighting for their lives," she added. "It's a very sad island at the moment. We're just sending our thoughts to the people that have passed and the people left behind. It's tragic, absolutely tragic."‌Brave teenagers' desperate effortsHero teenagers working in a diner close to West Mersea beach sprinted out onto the sand after they spotted casualties in the water on Wednesday.Police have confirmed that a woman and teen girl have died following the horror incident, with another person in hospital with serious injuries. West Mersea beach, in Essex, was cordoned off by police on July 22 due to the incident, following reports of individuals in distress in the water.‌The West Mersea Coastguard Rescue Team posted on Facebook early Thursday that they had responded to an incident near Seaview Avenue in West Mersea, Colchester, on Wednesday evening. Three young workers at a nearby cafe at rushed out to help rescue the family after they got into difficulty in a 'rip tide'. The teenagers - who all work at the Seaview Beach Cafe - were among the first on the scene after hearing a commotion outside.Leonie Powling, 19, was one of the heroes who helped to save a number of people in the water. She said her thoughts were with the victims' families. Leonie said: "We had someone run to the cafe saying they needed help, so we all stopped what we were doing and ran to the beach."We saw some people on the beach, and there were still some casualties in the water. We started running around, trying to find anyone with a kayak or a paddleboard. We couldn't just run into the water because there was a riptide, and everyone would've just been sucked in.‌"We were sat with a casualty making sure she was okay. There was another casualty we got out of the water, who was struggling to breathe at that point. One of the workers went up to her, patted her on the back and said: 'You need to make yourself throw up'."After that, the RNLI got into the water and got the other casualties out. The ambulance and the police turned up and we were all leading them to where the casualties were."I'm feeling fine now, to be fair, but it's not good to know people have died. But it's good to know that some of them survived. That's the best thing about it.‌"We got some people out, safe and okay. One is in serious condition, but will hopefully get better. With the other two, we're just thinking about the family. It's heartbreaking."Kiera French, 18, was working at the Seaview Beach Diner in Mersea when someone ran in shouting for help. She revealed: "Some people got into trouble in the water - quite a few of them. There was obviously quite a lot of panic on the beach. Someone was screaming for help, because I guess he couldn't swim."Two young girls came over to the cafe asking for a life buoy. I pointed them in the direction of one, then got straight on to the phone to 999. I stayed on the phone to 999, and then when they arrived they took over. I just think they didn't know about the tides and got caught out. It's just unfortunate they didn't know how strong the tide was."‌Andy Burnham says tragedies highlight the dangers of swimming in open waterPrime Minister Andy Burnham has vowed to support local authorities following the deaths. Mr Burnham said he was "so sad to hear the news" but admitted he did not have the details of the case.He added: "It does bring over, sometimes, the dangers of open water swimming at this time of the year. I just would ask people to consider that.‌"But thank you to the emergency services who stepped in and of course, you know, we will work to support the local authorities as we get to the bottom of this."A woman, who did not give her name, said the incident at West Mersea happened at high tide. She said: "The tide was a lot further in than it is now and that sandbank, they were on there and the tide came in."It comes in very quickly and you have to be careful."‌A worker at a nearby diner, who did not give her name, said some of their teenage staff had tried to help. Carl Powling, a councillor for Colchester Council, said his daughter is one of three teenage waitresses at a local cafe who tried to help.He said: "Three teenage girls, the waitresses in there, actually came out."One of them was on the phone directing the police where to come, the other two were on the beach assisting with the first aid, keeping people away from filming it as well.‌"Very level-headed, absolutely amazing for that age group."He said they helped until the coastguard arrived and there was a "phenomenal speed" of response.‌Mr Powling also said the teenage heroes were forced to stop people from recording the horrific incident on their phones. He added: "The actions of the girls is actually really admirable. From the onset of the incident, where the members of public called the ambulance, emergency services, the people that went in to help try and pull people out. The fact that the three girls went out to assist."One of them was on the phone directing the police exactly where to come, you know, directions down to Mersea. Then the way they tried to move people back, the crowds back, the level-headedness and calmness of them, is, is actually for their age group, is, is phenomenal."They saw everything that was going on. They were stopping people trying to film it, keep people away. Then the RNLI, the coastguard, everyone arrived, emergency services and them. But what they did it, it's admirable for, for the, for the local teenagers here to be fair."‌Mr Burnham vowed to support local authorities and said the incident highlighted the dangers of swimming in open water. He added he was "so sad to hear the news" and said: "Thank you to the emergency services who stepped in and of course, you know, we will work to support the local authorities as we get to the bottom of this."Detective Chief Inspector Al Pitcher, from Essex Police, said: "My thoughts, and those of my team, are with the friends and family of the woman and girl who died yesterday.‌“Since yesterday we have been working to establish the circumstances which led up to this incident. At this stage we believe they were trying to help a seven-year-old boy who had got into difficulties.“The boy was taken to hospital where he remains in a critical condition but the woman and teenage girl, sadly, died. All the people involved in this incident are related to each other."Police said they were speaking to "dozens of witnesses" as part of the investigation and urged anyone who might have more information to get in touch.‌A spokesperson for the East Anglian Air Ambulance service confirmed it sent a helicopter to West Mersea yesterday evening as part of the emergency response. A spokesperson for the East of England Ambulance Service confirmed that two people died at the scene, one person was taken to hospital by air ambulance and three were taken by road ambulance.The spokesperson said: "Following reports of multiple people in distress in the water at Sea View Holiday Park, West Mersea, we dispatched multiple resources including our Hazardous Area Response Team, critical care paramedics and two air ambulances. Sadly, despite best efforts, two patients could not be resuscitated. One patient was transported by air to hospital, and a further three patients were transported by road to hospital."‌The Mirror has launched the Save Lives For Sam water safety campaign to tackle the UK's growing drowning crisis. Backed by MPs, Olympic champions, national water safety organsations and bereaved families, the campaign is calling for urgent action to make our waters safer.The campaign is calling for:‌* The Government to launch an urgent public awareness campaign ahead of the summer holidays which targets parents and children on TikTok and other social media platforms. This should include lifesaving techniques and advice such as avoid diving into the water and information on cold water shock.* Water companies and those in control of high risk large water bodies, to ‘do the right thing’ by bringing in the correct safety equipment.* Compulsory lessons in schools (ahead of the holidays) on how to survive if you get into difficulty in the water, which should include the Water Safety Code, the RNLI ‘Float to Live’ campaign, and Phone-Float-Throw bystander advice.Article continues below* Put in place ‘Sam’s Law’. We urge the Government to make it law that safety equipment should be installed around high risk large bodies of water and make damaging this safety equipment an aggravated criminal offence to damage or steal this safety equipment. Currently it is already a criminal offence under theft or criminal damage but the penalties are low for these very minor offences.* And finally the appointment of a Minister for Water Safety, as they have in Wales and Scotland, as drowning must be accepted as a preventable public health issue.Find out more about the campaign and how you can support it here.