Aberdyfi beach: Six 'caught in rip current' taken to hospital

Ambulances, the coastguard and the RNLI were at the scene of beach rescue in Gwynedd

Six people have been taken to hospital after being caught in a rip current off the north Wales coast, the coastguard has said.

On Sunday the RNLI said eight people had been caught in currents in the waters off Aberdyfi, Gwynedd, and "were being resuscitated".

HM Coastguard confirmed six people had been taken to hospital, while two others were treated at the scene.

No details on their injuries have yet been released.

The coastguard said a number of 999 calls had been made at about 14:15 BST reporting a number of people "in difficulty" in the water at Aberdyfi.

It said three people were taken to hospital by the coastguard helicopter, one by an air ambulance and two by road ambulance.

At 16:40 the coastguard confirmed all people were now "accounted for" and emergency services were leaving the scene.

'Kite surfers sounded alarm'

A number of people called emergency services to report the incident

Kay Richards was out walking her dog on the beach when she saw police cars and the air ambulance arrive.

"By the time we got to the beach all had been pulled from the water," she said.

"We could see someone was surrounded by paramedics and they were eventually put on a stretcher and went on the air ambulance."

Ms Richards said she saw people being taken to the coastguard helicopter, and one person sat on the beach being "checked over".

She praised rescuers from the RNLI and air ambulance, for their actions getting the people from the water, saying without them it could have been "very different".

"From what I heard it was people out kite surfing who saw the people in trouble and raised the alarm," she said.

"The red flag was up so I'm not sure why they were in the water swimming, we have very strong tides here."

The beach is popular with tourists but it has strong currents

The ambulance service said they were called at 14:24 BST, following a "beach incident" near Aberdyfi.

It said casualties were flown to Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth and Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor.

Earlier the RNLI confirmed it had launched its lifeboat from Aberdyfi after reports of three casualties in difficulty off the coast, but when they arrived they found eight in the water.

The coastal village, off the Dyfi Estuary and set within Snowdonia National Park, is popular with tourists due to its long sandy beach and water sports.

Visit Snowdonia's website warns that while the water looks inviting, "swimmers must take care while venturing out, due to the strong currents around the estuary mouth".