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Two more bodies have been pulled from the sea at Camber Sands after three other swimmers died at the beach today.

The RNLI confirmed tonight that two bodies have been pulled from the sea off the Sussex coast. A search is also underway for a further missing person.

It comes after three people died earlier today after being pulled from the water.

The identities and ages of the five victims has not yet been released.

The two bodies were found tonight by a member of the public on the beach at around 8pm.

Half an hour later RNLI launched a boat at 8.30pm after being contacted by Dover Coastguard to assist in the search for someone they believed was in the water.

(Image: PA)

A spokesman for the RNLI said: “Rye Harbour lifeboat has launched to assist in the search for another person in the water.

“Earlier two bodies were washed up on the beach and found by a member of the public."

Earlier, three swimmers were all rescued from the water at Camber Sands in Sussex between 2.10pm and 2.25pm.

Witnesses say medics were performing CPR on the beach and an air ambulance was seen landing at the scene.

However, Sussex Police later said all three had died.

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Speaking earlier today, Chief Superintendent Di Roskilly said: "This has been an incredibly tragic situation and very traumatic for those who were there on the beach at the time.

"At this stage we do not know who the men are and are doing all we can to establish their identities."

"We are also asking people to stay away from Camber for the afternoon and evening to assist emergency services in managing this incident."

It comes after one teenager died and two others were left seriously injured after being rescued from the sea on the same beach last month.

(Image: @Tashka4) (Image: SWNS)

Pictures show how the beach was completely packed today on one of the hottest days of the year.

Footage from the scene shows medics working on the swimmers on the beach.

Personal trainer Chris Hawkes said everybody was enjoying a "lovely day" when the rescue helicopters suddenly appeared.

"It was a really good day and everybody seemed relaxed. We then suddenly saw the helicopter come over and land on the beach.

The student, from south east London, said his family were looking forward to a lovely afternoon at the beach, not to be surrounded by tragedy.

The 19-year-old, who asked not to be named, said: “We were all looking forwards to a nice day out.

“But when we got there there was a lifeguard truck and air ambulance there.

“It was all very scary actually.

“While the people were doing CPR on the first two people, another person had to be pulled out of the sea.

“One of the first lot was put into a vehicle and driven away, but they used windbreakers to surround the other two people.

“After about 40 minutes of doing CPR, a doctor must have turned up or something because they stopped.

“It was horrible - there were so many people crying and families hugging each other.

“There was so much crying, it was terrible.”

Another eyewitness, Natalja Taylor, 30, who was on a day-trip with her husband, said police were driving up the beach with a loudhailer urging people to stay out of the sea.

She said: “Police drove on to the beach with a loudspeaker, telling people not to go into the water until further notice. They also taped off a huge chunk of the beach so no-one could get near it.

“It’s pretty scary. I’m not sure how it happened. We decided not to go into the sea after seeing warning signs about some kind of fish. It wasn’t particularly windy down there, it was just a hot, sunny beach day.

“There was a lot of people on the beach, particularly for a weekday. We’re now just hoping that everyone involved is okay.”

Bella Sanders said the incident was "shocking" for those on the beach.

(Image: Twitter /@PeterOUwaibi)

She said: "One minute it was calm and then one person was pulled from the sea, then another, then another.

" It was shocking to see. The air ambulance arrived and were performing CPR on at least two of the casualties for at least half an hour.

(Image: SWNS)

"It was horrible to see, the sea was so calm and warm. Me and my four year old daughter were in the area the casualties were pulled from just two minutes before it happened."

A number of people have taken to social media with pictures from the scene.

One Twitter user called James wrote: "All afternoon there have been police, lifeguards, medics and helicopters coming back and forth on Camber Sands. A lot of ill people."

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said that the Lydd and Lee-on-Solent-based UK Coastguard search-and-rescue helicopters were scrambled to the scene, along with an air ambulance.

(Image: SWNS)

(Image: SWNS)

An RNLI lifeboat from Rye and Coastguard rescue teams are also there.

An MCA spokesman said: "This incident is ongoing and we have no further information at this stage."

At the end of last month one person died and two others were left seriously injured after being rescued from Camber Sands.

Gustavo Silva Da Cruz, 19, from Brazil, was one of three men who got into trouble in the water.

His body was found following a major search by Coastguard and RNLI teams.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "The 19-year-old man, who had been visiting Camber, was found at 6.20pm but was declared dead at the scene. He has been named as Gustavo Silva Da Cruz

Police later said all three had "got into trouble while swimming with the changing tides and coastline."