A couple who tried to save a mother and daughter who drowned off West Mersea beach in Essex said 'they just wanted them to survive' and 'willed' them to breathe.Shelina Rahman, 41, and her 15-year-old daughter Sameesha both died while trying to help a seven-year-old family member who 'got into trouble' as the tide came in on Wednesday. The child was airlifted to hospital and is fighting for their life. Three others were taken by ambulance to another hospital. Emergency services rushed to the scene at around 5.35pm after several people were reported to have gotten into difficulty in the water at Sea View Holiday Park, near Colchester.Craig Bowe and wife Carly, from Northaw in Hertfordshire, heard 'hysterical' screams for help from the water as they celebrated their daughter's tenth birthday.Mr Bowe, who recalled seeing the victims having a 'great time' on the beach earlier in the day, then plunged into the water. Mrs Bowe, 43, called an ambulance while her 42-year-old husband swam out to help the struggling group. Mr Bowe pulled the mother and daughter from the waves before swimming out to help the seven-year-old boy and another child on to a lifeboat. Sameeha Rahman, 15, (pictured with father Dr Mansur Rahman) died alongside her mother when she bravely tried to rescue a young child who had got into difficulty in the water The victims in the incident were British-Bangladeshi mother Shelina Rahman (pictured) and her 15-year-old daughter Craig Bowe and wife Carly, from Northaw in Hertfordshire, heard 'hysterical' screams for help from the water as they celebrated their daughter's 10th birthdayThe children were around 150 yards (137m) out at sea. The hero, who is a kitchen fitter, said: 'Initially, I thought that they were facing up, starfish, and trying to survive.'So I swam out and thought maybe I could talk to them and try, as a team to come back together.''But when I got there,' Mr Bowe told the BBC,' the first two people that I saw were actually face down, so more serious than I initially thought.' Mrs Rahman, a teacher, and Sameesha were reportedly 'not very good swimmers' and were just on a 'day out' at the beach when they tried to save the boy, from Barking, east London.Once Mr Bowe carried the pair to shore, bystanders began administering CPR as he re-entered the water to help the seven-year-old boy and another child.'I helped sort of shoo him on to the boat, because he was face down too… but the seven-year-old was not in a good way,' he said.'The waves were hitting me in the face. The current was definitely stronger.'