Sea tragedy father 'truly heroic'

The mother of a man who drowned off the coast of Majorca while unsuccessfully trying to save his young son described him as "truly heroic".

George Selby, who was in his 20s, and his young son Louis Selby died on the Spanish island on Saturday.

The tragic accident occurred at Cala Antena beach, a small bay near the resort of Calas de Mallorca, in the south east of the island.

In a statement released through the Foreign Office (FO), Christine Selby said: "My son George Selby died trying to save his son Louis Selby. George was passionate about his wife Abigail and their three sons.

"This tragedy that has befallen this family has devastated the lives of his wife, sons, and mother. George, Louis and their family were - and still are - loved by all that knew them. Please allow us to grieve for our devastating loss of a truly heroic husband, father, son, brother. And Louis our little bear."

According to a local paper, Louis was swept out to sea by a current and his father then tried to rescue him.

Lifeguards tried to save the pair, but the rest of the family looked on as their efforts proved fruitless. A red flag warning beachgoers not to swim is believed to have been flying at the time.

It said the family had arrived for a holiday on the Balearic island just two days earlier.

The deaths come less than two weeks after five-year-old Lara Lewis and her grandfather Brian O'Dwyer, 66, drowned near the holiday resort of Nazare, around 60 miles north of Lisbon in Portugal. It is thought Lara was walking with her grandparents along a sandy beach when they were all pulled into the sea by strong waves on August 22.

Just a day later, Cambridge University student Marcus Hughes-Hallett drowned while swimming off the Maltese island of Comino. The 20-year-old, who was studying maths at Queens' College, is believed to have got into difficulties while snorkelling in caves in the Bay of Santa Marija during a family holiday.