Two dead after being pulled from sea with search to continue

A major search and rescue operation off Withernsea, Yorkshire, resulted in two deaths on Friday, 3 January 2026. Officials were alerted at 3:10 pm to people in trouble in the sea. A 67-year-old man was found unconscious in the water and later confirmed dead. A second, unidentified body was recovered from the sea later in the evening. The search for another missing person was stood down at around midnight and will resume at first light. The operation involved HM Coastguard, a search and rescue helicopter, a fixed-wing aircraft, local coastguard and RNLI rescue teams, Yorkshire Ambulance Service, an air ambulance, Humberside Police, and Humberside Fire and Rescue. Conditions were described as 'horrendous' with three-metre waves, preventing local volunteer group Hornsea Inshore Rescue from launching. Temperatures in Withernsea were forecast to drop to freezing overnight.