Camber Sands inquest: Man died trying in vain to save swimmer

Gustavo Silva Da Cruz disappeared under the water after getting out of his depth

A man died after trying to rescue a day-tripper from the sea a month before five young friends died at the same beach, an inquest has heard.

Mohit Dupar, 36, attempted to reach Gustavo Silva Da Cruz, 19, after he got into difficulty at Camber Sands, East Sussex, on 24 July.

Mr Silva Da Cruz died at the scene. Mr Dupar died in hospital four days later.

East Sussex coroner Alan Craze said he would be looking at what public safety measures could be used at the beach.

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The inquest in Hastings was told Mr Dupar, from Hayes, west London, died from a brain injury caused by cardiac arrest due to drowning.

His 17-year-old son Ankush was also pulled from the sea, and remained in a coma for three weeks.

Mr Silva Da Cruz, a Brazilian national who had been visiting family in Croydon, south London, died from drowning with his asthma possibly an exacerbating factor, the inquest heard.

Robert Cass, of Rother District Council, said he believed the incoming tide meant the men became stranded and unable to get off a sandbar .

Mr Craze adjourned the hearing and said he was considering verdicts of misadventure.

Five friends died in August, a month after two men got into difficulty on the same day in July

A pre-inquest review into the deaths of five men from London was also held in Hastings.

Kenugen Saththiyanathan, 18, known as Ken, and his brother Kobikanthan Saththiyanathan, 22, known as Kobi, both of Normandy Way, Erith, south-east London, were among the friends who died in the sea at Camber Sands on 24 August.

Nitharsan Ravi, 22, of Admaston Road, Plumstead, south-east London, Inthushan Sriskantharasa, 23, of Chadwell Road, Grays, Essex, and Gurushanth Srithavarajah, 27, of Elsa Road, Welling, south-east London, were also in the group.

A date for a full inquest was not formally fixed, and a decision on whether the inquest would be heard in front of a jury was deferred.

The coroner said he would want to hear expert evidence into what public safety measures would be practical and recommendable, including the possibility of having sections of the beach for swimming only.

"The provision of safety for the vast numbers of people that go to Camber is now an extremely important matter, and I owe it to the community as a whole to investigate as far as I conceivably can do," Mr Craze said.