Passengers on board pleasure cruise minutes before Bournemouth beach double ... trends now

The boat impounded by police after the deaths of two children in the sea next to Bournemouth pier continued with its 40-minute Channel pleasure cruise despite chaos in the sea around them, passengers revealed today.

The 78ft Dorset Belle was seized yesterday afternoon. The vessel, which operates hourly and can carry up to 80 people, is now under guard at Poole Harbour. 

A man aged in his 40s who was 'on the water' at the time was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter but has been released under investigation while police, Marine Accident Investigation Branch and Maritime and Coastguard Agency inquiries continue.

Luke Owen and his family set out from Bournemouth's historic pier in the minutes before 10 people got into trouble in the water on Wednesday afternoon. A boy from Southampton, 17, and a girl from Buckinghamshire, 12, perished.

The vessel had visited Bournemouth Pier at 4pm, just minutes before the first 999 calls were made. Detectives have said that no physical contact was made between the swimmers and any vessel or jet-ski and those involved had not been jumping off the pier.

Mr Owen was on board Dorset Belle and was shocked the 40-minute coastal cruise continued. He said: 'When we looked no one was on the beach and before we left everyone was on the beach. It was empty, everyone was just staring. I'm first thinking it was a shark attack'.

Dorset Police are facing calls to clarify the circumstances that led to their deaths to end 'wild speculation'. 

Luke Owen told the Mirror that he spoke to staff on the boat who said that one person was pulled from the water - and another was missing.

He said: 'As he's told me that, we looked up to the sea and the 17-year-old was being pulled out. The ambulance came across and collected him.

'When it's something like that it kind of hits you. Especially as I was with the family, my little one especially, I wanted to get out of there. My son's 14 so he wanted to see what was going on so we looked briefly and police were saying for people to move.'

Heartbroken relatives of the 12-year-old girl who died in the Bournemouth beach tragedy have remembered the tragic youngster, with one claiming the child 'showed me what love is'.

Tributes poured in for the girl, and the 17-year-old boy who also died, as police continue to probe a pleasure boat amid concerns that the pair got into difficulty in the water in the wake of a vessel.

It remains unclear what exactly caused the incident, which caused RNLI lifeguards to swarm into the sea after 10 people got into trouble, but a father of one of the teenagers who survived the horrific incident said it was a 'rip tide' that 'took them out'.

The 78ft Dorset Belle was seized by Dorset Police yesterday afternoon. The vessel, which operates hourly and can carry up to 80 people, is now under guard at Poole Harbour, five miles away from where it usually operates off Bournemouth Pier.

And in a fresh statement last night, police officers reiterated there was no suggestion that jet skis had been involved or that the youngsters jumped off the pier, as they released a man in his 40s, who had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, under investigation.

The father of 18-year-old Lauren Tate, one of the eight survivors who spent a short time in hospital after the incident, said a rip tide appeared to have been involved in the tragedy.

'We've seen stuff about boats and jet skis, but it wasn't like that. She was just swimming in the sea with her friends when the rip tide took them out.

'She was lucky to get pulled out by the coastguard and one of her friends was rescued by a paddleboarder'.

Lauren had attended college with the teenager who sadly died.

Nicola Holton, 43, and Stuart Clark, 42, were on the beach with their two children when the tragedy unfolded.

The couple said there had been an announcement about a 'dangerous riptide' made at 4pm. 

The cause of the undercurrent, which led to RNLI lifeguards swarming into the sea, still remains unclear as police officers continue their probe for a third day.

Others who were on the beach when the disaster occurred have praised the 'magnificent' young lifeguards for their heroic efforts.

Dr Rob Rosa, 48, a former GP and chief medical officer, had been on the promenade where he saw the young girl being rushed onto the beach.

He told the Telegraph: 'These were young kids in their early twenties who have never seen anything like this and they were exceptional.

'They cleared the beach, set a perimeter and shielded the bodies. They could have frozen, but they didn't.'

Dr Rosa said the young lifeguards also had to marshal the crowds, as 'hoards of people' were running down with their cameras 'trying to take photos'.

The lifeguards also tried to 'shield' young children from seeing the horror, the witness said.

The Dorset Belle still remains in Poole Harbour, and no one is currently allowed on board or able to touch the vessel.

On the day of the horrendous incident, the Dorset Belle reportedly had made numerous circuits around Bournemouth Pier according to the online tracker MarineTraffic. 

A number of boating restrictions are in place around the famous Dorset pier.

Vessels cannot go above speeds of six knots in an area which is clearly marked out by yellow buoys. Licensed commercial pleasure boats, however, are allowed to go in and out of the pier at certain scheduled times.

These boats are supposed to follow a designated shipping lane, according to Bournemouth's Council website.  

A police source told The Times: 'This vessel is under a police cordon. No one is permitted onboard or to touch the vessel.' 

The seize of the boat comes after an MP claimed that Dorset Police were investigating whether wash from a vessel had impacted the young people getting into trouble.

Conor Burns, MP for Bournemouth West, raised concerns that a vessel may have created 'conditions' that made the water 'more dangerous'.

The Conservative politician said: 'It would seem not a far reach to draw a conclusion that while the vessel may not have physically touched the young people, perhaps it created the conditions which made being in the water more dangerous by the speed it was going.'

Two uniformed police officers were seen inspecting the tourist boat at 4.20pm, the paper reported. 

The boat, which can accommodate up to 80 guests, takes tours every hour on the hour between 11am and 5pm, showing tourists views of the Chines, Sandbanks, Studland and Old Harry Rocks. 

Today, MarineTraffic shows the popular tourist boat stationed at Poole Harbour - around five miles away from where it's usually stationed at the pier.

Police vehicles surrounded the boat but the force did not provide any details when contacted by MailOnline this evening.  

Eight other children were hurt after getting into trouble in the water close to the beach and pier in Dorset packed with half-term holidaymakers and locals on Wednesday afternoon.

Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Corrigan pleaded with the public 'not to speculate about the circumstances surrounding the incident' in a bid to protect enquiries' and 'out of respect for the victims' families'.

He urged those with footage to submit it to police officers rather than posting it online. 

Supt Corrigan added: 'Early investigation indicates that there was no physical contact between a vessel and any swimmers at the time of the incident and there is no suggestion of people jumping from the pier or jet skis being involved.

'We know that the beach was very busy when this incident occurred. I am urging anyone who saw what happened, or has any information that may assist our investigation, to please come forward.

'Also, I urge anyone with relevant phone footage that may assist our enquiries to submit it to Dorset Police via the Major Incident Public Portal quoting Operation Marble rather than sharing it on social media.'

The detective chief did not reveal what he believed had caused the tragedy.  

'I would like to sincerely thank the members of the public who went to help the people in trouble in the water. I am also very grateful for the wider beachgoers who cleared the beach really quickly and allowed the emergency services to do their work', he said.

'This incident sparked a multi-agency response from a range of emergency services, including the ambulance service, HM Coastguard, the RNLI, the fire service, BCP Council and Dorset Police. 

'All these emergency responders came together to provide a really swift and well-coordinated response and did everything they could to save lives. I thank all of those responders for their professionalism and compassion in the face of this tragedy.'

Officers from Dorset police will continue with patrols over the next few days, with support from the local councils beach services and the RNLI. Anyone with concerns or information about the incident are urged to approach them. 

Councillor Vikki Slade, leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, said what happened in Bournemouth on Wednesday must have been a 'terrifying' experience.

She said: 'Again I want to add our sincere condolences to the families of the children who lost their lives, and our thoughts are with the families of the young people that were in the water.

'It must have been a really terrifying experience for everybody.

'The services worked incredibly well together. Our staff on the beach all rallied round to support the emergency services.'

She said there are additional staff available for the public on the beach on Thursday and over the weekend, adding: 'The beach is busy. We are making sure that the RNLI are very visible and that our teams are available there to support people and make sure that they feel safe on the beach.'

She said Bournemouth 'remains a really fantastic place to visit', adding that the incident needs to be investigated properly.

'And we are confident with our partners that any lessons that need to be learned in the future will will be learned,' she said.

Families arriving at the beach on Thursday spoke of their shock at the previous day's events.

One woman, who did not want to be named, said: 'It's such a shame, people just come here to have fun, it's a real tragedy.'