A second teenager has died two days after a group of relatives got into difficulty in the sea in Essex.

Haider Shamas, 18, from Luton, died in hospital on Saturday following the incident at Clacton-on-Sea on Thursday afternoon, Essex police said.

He was among three relatives pulled from the water close to the town’s pier after getting into difficulty at about 1.40pm. His 14-year-old sister Malika also died in the incident.

A 15-year-old girl, also a relative, is expected to make a full recovery.

Five people were treated at the scene in all, the three teenagers and two others who did not need hospital treatment.

Witnesses described lifeguards attempting CPR before paramedics arrived, and some people called for more signs warning of the dangers of swimming.

The incident came a year after Ben Quartermaine, 15, drowned near the pier.

A witness, Becky Bryant, 40, said: “I saw two people being pulled from the sea and lifeguards trying to do CPR until the paramedics turned up.

“Everyone tried to take turns doing the CPR while the lifeboat went out again and retrieved the third person, who seemed not to be in such a bad way.

“It was so distressing, everyone was trying to do what they could - lifeguards, air ambulance, they truly worked as a team.”

She said the victims were with a group of about 30 people at the beach.

Karen Jones, also 40, a counsellor from Tendring, described the incident as tragic, adding: “As a parent, I would like to see more signage warning of dangers.”

Floral tributes had been left on railings by the beach on Friday.