70-year-old man drowns while trying to save his dog

yinka ogunlami

January 3, 2016 6:38 AM

A 70-year-old grand-dad got into difficulty in rough waters at Portmellon, near Mevagissey, Cornwall, while out walking his dog near the sea.

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Devon and Cornwall Police received reports of two people getting into difficulty at 11am. Officers described the man's death as a "tragic accident". A police spokesman said: "Sadly, the man has now been confirmed as deceased. Initial reports are that the deceased entered the sea in an effort to rescue his dog which had gone into the water.

Neighbours said that the family had arrived in the area for a holiday on New Year's Eve.

A Portmellon resident, who witnessed the tragedy, said: "There was the man in his 70s, the woman who was [in her] early 50s and a girl aged about eight to 10 and they had two dogs with them. They could not walk on the beach because it was high tide. The lady had gone to retrieve the ball from the water and the guy went to help her.

He was airlifted from the sea by a coastguard helicopter but was later pronounced dead. His stepdaughter waded in to help him and was rescued from the choppy waves by a passerby.

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