A teenage boy who died whilst swimming off Bournemouth Beach has been named as 17-year-old Joe Abbess. Joe was pulled from the water after huge waves, believed to have been caused by a passing boat, caused problems for several swimmers.
Joe’s family said they were “heartbroken and devastated” at the loss of a “fabulous young man” and a “talented” trainee chef.
A friend said Joe was a “great lad, he was very popular”.
They added: “He’d gone to Bournemouth with eight mates last week because it was half-term. They’d gone down to the beach and Joe and a few others were in the sea.
“All of a sudden there was a commotion and people were struggling in the water. Joe was brought out of the sea onto the beach and paramedics were trying to revive him but they couldn’t do anything.
“We haven’t got the full details yet on what happened but his death has left a lot of people heartbroken. His family, as you’d expect are not in a good way, and it’s hit a lot of people very hard.”
When the tragedy happened last Wednesday, lifeguards rushed into the water by Bournemouth Pier when a group of young people got into difficulty at 4.30pm.
As members of the health service tried to save the most seriously injured, a further eight people were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
An investigation has been launched into how the tragedy occurred while a man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, but released while under investigation.
Alongside Joe Abbess, 12-year-old Sunnah Khan, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, also died in the tragedy. More than 200 people attended his funeral at the Central Mosque in High Wycombe on Saturday, June 3.
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