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| Five airlifted to help from beach | Five airlifted to help from beach |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Three children and two adults have been airlifted to hospital after getting into difficulties while swimming in the sea at a popular beach. | Three children and two adults have been airlifted to hospital after getting into difficulties while swimming in the sea at a popular beach. |
| Swansea Coastguard said the adults got into trouble as they tried to help the children at Three Cliff Bay in Gower. | Swansea Coastguard said the adults got into trouble as they tried to help the children at Three Cliff Bay in Gower. |
| The children managed to get themselves back to shore safely but the two adults needed rescuing by the lifeboat. | The children managed to get themselves back to shore safely but the two adults needed rescuing by the lifeboat. |
| All five were airlifted by the RAF to Morriston Hospital in Swansea. Their condition is unknown, | |
| The Horton and Mumbles lifeboats, coastguard rescuers and an RAF rescue helicopter from Chivenor in Devon helped in the rescue alongside police and ambulance services. | |
| Steve Jones, watch manager for Swansea coastguard, said they received the 999 call at about 1420 BST from a woman at Three Cliffs who was with the family of five. | |
| The fathers were just clinging onto each other and shouting for help themselves Steve Jones, Swansea Coastguard | |
| The three children who had been playing in a freshwater stream got out of their depth and they were then swept out into a current off the bay, Mr Jones said.. | |
| "It's a well known trouble spot over the years , and made more so by the gale force winds we've seen since all day yesterday and the high spring tides. | |
| "It's OK saying they shouldn't have gone in the water but, after all, it was their three children who were being swept out." | |
| Mr Jones said the two fathers went into the water and soon got into difficulties themselves and the rescue operation was launched. One man had to be given oxygen before being flown to hospital. | |
| Coastguards kept the mother talking on the phone for the entire 30 minute operation, he added. | |
| Lifeguards | |
| "The fathers were just clinging onto each other and shouting for help themselves," said Mr Jones. | |
| It was the second major rescue at Three Cliffs in two days. On Sunday two people who got into difficulties on a body board sparked a similar operation. | |
| Mr Jones added this warning for holidaymakers. | |
| "What we would recommend is that you actually attend beaches where lifeguards are on around the Gower, and if you do attend beaches where there are no lifeguards please please be very careful and check the weather conditions." |