A tragedy was narrowly avoided when specialist marine officers helped to rescue two stranded men from the sea.
The Search and Marine Unit officers were patrolling the Thames Estuary on the Kent Police vessel Invicta when they received a distress call at around 10.45am on Wednesday 21 January 2025.
It was reported that two men, one in his 20s and another in his 30s, had walked onto the sand banks in Southend, Essex, before being trapped by the rapidly rising tide.
When the officers reached the men the water had risen to around neck-height and it is estimated they were only around 10 minutes away from being completely submerged.
• Subscribe to ITV News on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2lOHmNj
• Get breaking news and more stories at http://www.itv.com/news
Follow ITV News on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@itvnews?lang=en
Follow ITV News on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itvnews/
Follow ITV News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itvnews/
Follow ITV News on X: https://twitter.com/itvnews
