Beach Closed After Cliff Divers Airlifted To Hospital

A packed beach was closed after a group of cliff divers injured themselves jumping into the sea in Dorset.

Three people were rushed to hospital yesterday (30 May), suffering serious injuries after they leapt 70ft from the top of Durdle Door.

Footage shared online shows dozens of people sat along the beach watching on as people climbed to the top of the limestone arch and dived into the water below.

However, things quickly turned sour, with two air ambulances rushing to the scene to deal with the injured swimmers.

According to reports, the RNLI and HM Coastguard were called out. The beach was evacuated and has remained closed since.

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In a statement, Poole Police confirmed that several people had been injured and reminded people of the dangers of diving into water from such great heights.

It said: "Emergency Services are trying to deal with the incident. We ask please that you avoid the area for the rest of the day. If you are currently at the location, please calmly make your way home so we can ensure effective service delivery.

"Hitting water from that height can be critical. This is further compounded by tides, currents and altering depth of the sea bed.

"It is not an appropriate location for this type of activity."

The first casualty was airlifted to Southampton General Hospital after an onlooker informed them at 3.45pm that someone had hurt themselves.

A second man reportedly injured himself less than an hour later at 4.30pm, suffering a broken leg.

It is not yet known what happened to the third casualty.

In a post to social media this morning (31 May) Dorset Council confirmed that the beach would remain closed and that people were urged not to visit it today.

The post to its Twitter account read: "The roads to #LulworthCove and #DurdleDoor REMAIN CLOSED today (Sunday 31 May). You will not be able to visit the beaches there and will be asked to turn around if you try and access the villages.

"We will review tomorrow, but for now please AVOID the area."

Topics: Interesting, Coronavirus

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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