Three women's bodies found in the sea at Brighton

[BlackTogetherAgain]

This is absolutely heartbreaking.

Why didn't anyone report three women were missing?

If it's a Channel crossing, from what I understand, it's rare that women go on the boats from France, and when they do they are pushed to the back / bottom, where the risk of being crushed is high.

If it's not a crossing, what on earth has happened?

Words can't express how evil this is.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cwyg508gg28t

How do you know there are trafficked women in Brighton? If you know any that you suspect are trafficked, plse tell the police.

And sea swimmers tend to be very aware of local conditions and dangers. Brighton is a steep pebble beach (which often gets much steeper beyond the waterline) - which has a particular problem when leaving the water for the inexperienced. The pebbles at the shoreline become very loose in strong waves with backwash. They collapse under any weight and can make it extremely difficult to walk, crawl or climb out - as the pebbles collapse and wash out underfoot. And then another wave crashes over and tumbles a weak cold body. Very different to a gently sloping sandy beach that people are more likely to be used to.

That is sad.

I used to sometimes go to a club called The Zap Club there years ago and though we’d sit on the beach and watch the sea we never went into
the water.

Exactly this.

It's beyond sad.

The news is saying they were Londoners. It was high tide and they'd have had no idea that shelf was there. An utter tragedy.

I always used to go to the one just along from there, The Beach, in the Nineties, and we never went into the sea after, either. But it was usually dark when we got out. If the sun was coming up, I can see how a paddle looked tempting. 😢

I am a Londoner. We literally only went down if someone we knew (friend) was playing there or special occasion to go there. Even so it took a lot to get us to travel there.

They’re now saying that a woman on social media from Jamaica is saying she’s related to these women.

You wouldn’t know though would you? Even if it was daylight you wouldn’t see a sea shelf easily. I think. I haven’t swam in Brighton for ages but was there in January.

That’s tragic about the beach. Unless you researched it you’d presume it was like other sandy beaches. Hopefully they’ll put signs up about this now.

How so?

No, you wouldn't, not even in daylight. Not unless you're a savvy local. There was a man named Gareth Jones who lost his life due to one of those shelves near Brighton when he went in to rescue his dog. It happened in 2021. Apparently the CCTV showed that he was overwhelmed in less than a minute. It was high tide - 6 metres - and there were waves. He stepped off that shelf, not knowing it was there I guess, and couldn't get out. It was January, so he might have succumbed to the cold water - either that or the current dragged him under. I'm not sure if his official cause of death was drowning or hypothermia. But yeah, it was all about those steep shingle shelves that are under the water in high tide.

Apparently there are signs saying Danger, but it's so easy to ignore those. I think people are more likely to avoid if they make clear there are steep underwater drops, like using a diagram as well as saying Danger.

Like I said, there should be warning signs there. I can’t recall seeing them when I was there in January and we did a beach walk to the pier and back to the hotel.

Its so sad.

Even people who live near the sea can be in ignorance of how dangerous it is. Alluded to in another post, but flatter beaches are safer - always be wary of steeper beaches.

The steeper the beach, the stronger the current and, as in the case here, the more likely there is to be an invisible shelf not far out where the land drops away, the water is colder and current suddenly stronger still.

Apparently the latest is that one of them went in for a paddle. I bet one of the other two tried to rescue save her and got pulled in/under.

When the tide is high at Brighton, you can't even see how steep it is. It's quite dangerous, really.

I agree.

It does sound like one just wanted a paddle and didn’t realise how steep it can be. Then how hard to get out once the waves have hit you. Then the others went in to help. Desperately sad.

I remember struggling to get out in Hove and it wasn’t even that choppy. The steep incline makes it so hard.

A lot of assumptions on here.

More like accurate guesstimates. It doesn't look like they went in for a swim, as they were all fully clothed. The working theory from the police is that one or all went for a paddle and got into trouble. If this turns out to be correct, we'll probably never know if they all got into trouble at the same time or if two were trying to help one.

There was CCTV footage of Gareth Jones when he went into the water where there was a steep shelf covered up by a high tide, and when there were waves. While he wasn't paddling - he was trying to help his dog - reports said the footage showed him attempting to get out up the steep shingle three times and being overwhelmed by the deep water in less than a minute. It's a fair guess that this is what happened to these women, too. It was high tide, and those shelves are hidden.

But yes, it's all guesswork until there's more info.

Oh yes, I was on Brighton beach 18 months ago, not even at the steepest part and not even in the water. I was just sitting not too far from the water's edge. Those shingle banks are really hard to climb up, with them giving way under your feet, even when you're not dealing with waves and backwash. I think most people don't realise how hard it is to climb up those shingle banks unless they've done it.

If they were around the Palace Pier and it was high tide with wind and waves, per reports, then they really would have stood no chance if they stumbled upon stepping off the hidden shelf.

Edit: When I was growing up there, the beaches didn't have those steep shingle shelves. The beach was always sloped, but the inclines along there are crazy these days. I don't know if it's natural or if the stones were dumped there for shore defences. Either way, it's not very safe at all.

Exactly it’s been many years since I swam at Brighton at the same area and I don’t recall it being steep shingle at all, just horribly stony which was what put me off swimming there when I went back. As I said before, there needs to be signs there now warning of the dangers.

If it’s dark (but would be lighter when they were there) one may have gone in for a paddle and then another is nearby and falls in or is taken in by waves. Or slips down the shingle. Would be useful if cctv footage is there but probably not. I was wondering though why aren’t they asleep in their hotel? When I was there in January at a hotel lots of younger people were there but they seemed to return to the hotel during the night/early next morning. You’d see them at breakfast.

Reports say they were in going-out clothes, so they probably came out of one of the clubs at 4 am, which is when many close, and went down to the water to admire it. I've done that on coming out of one of those clubs. From the timing of the 999 call, it seems they might have decided to paddle not long after dawn. Maybe the sea and sky just looked lovely as the sky started to lighten, and a paddle seemed like a good idea. 😢

It's down to those dratted shingle shelves that CCTV may not be helpful. I doubt the ones along that beachwalk where the clubs are can see over the shingle humps that are on the beach before the drop-off. (Why so many shingle hills on the beach, just whyyyy?)

A PP on this thread said there were lots of signs, but the fact that neither you nor I have ever seen them just goes to show that they're not effective.