Clacton has been rocked by a serious incident which saw three people pulled from the sea.

This is everything we know about what happened.

Emergency services called, Marine Parade West 1.30pm

Police, ambulances, the Coastguard and the RNLI are all called to the beach near Marine Parade after reports three people, believed to be teenagers, were in the water.

Witnesses described how three air ambulances had landed and the area had been cordoned off.

Another witness revealed how there was a "commotion on the beach" and then the lifeboat could be seen.

A fireman who was off duty helped at the scene until paramedics arrived.

Paramedics take three people to hospital

The ambulance service said it had a first response vehicle on scene in under seven minutes.

They said: "We dispatched multiple resources including rapid response vehicles, ambulance officers, three ambulance crews, our hazardous area response team (HART) and air ambulances from Essex and Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) and East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA)."

Multiple patients were treated at the scene.

One patient was transported to Colchester Hospital by land ambulance as a precaution for further treatment.

A further two patients were also taken to Colchester Hospital, both in a critical condition.

Police have now confirmed a 14-year-old girl has sadly died. 

An 18-year old man is stable but remains in a critical condition, and a 15-year-old girl is expected to make a full recovery.

The three casualties are related. Immediate family members have been informed and are at hospital.

Lifeboat crews called and asked to search for fourth person

Richard Wigley, Clacton RNLI spokesman, said: "We were paged to concerns for people in the water at 1.45pm.

"The D-class lifeboat made its way towards the pier, but it was flagged down by beach patrol staff to the beach in front of West Greensward.

"But when they arrived, three casualties were already our of the water and were being treated by paramedics at the scene.

"The lifeboat was tasked to look for a fourth person in the water, before being stood down."