British boy, 11, and girl, 13, drown in front of dad while swimming on holiday

The children drowned off the coast of Salou in Spain (Picture: SOLARPIX.COM)

A British father had to be rescued as he desperately tried to save his children who were swept away in rough sea in Spain.

The boy,aged 11,and the girl,13,got into difficulty after swimming off from a rocky beach off their hotel in Llarga Beach in Salou,Tarragona yesterday evening.

The father of the children,who had tried to save them,was rescued alive,exhausted and tired,according to witnesses.

Tragically,both of the siblings by the time emergency help arrived and tried to resuscitate them they had died.

The British family who have five children are understood to be staying at the Hotel Best Negresco.

One of the officers who jumped into the water explained that the current was so strong that the boy and the girl were ripped 100m away from each other even though they entered the sea in the same place.

Giving his name as Younes A,he told DiariTots21: ‘A hotel worker was trying to get one of the three out of the sea when we arrived.

‘We took off our belts with our clothes and threw ourselves into the sea.

‘We were told when we helped get that person out that another two people were in the sea who could be minors.

‘We tried to locate them,saw bits of clothes and seconds later were able to locate and get a young girl out of the water and began resuscitation and another police force was the one responsible for getting the other child out of the sea.

‘When the emergency services arrived they took over the efforts to save them until they said they couldn’t do anything more.

‘We don’t know the circumstances leading up to them getting into difficulties.

‘I leapt into the water with two other colleagues to get the father to safety first before going back to rescue one of the children.’

He added: ‘There were waves and wind. It was dangerous. There was a lot of swell.’

Salou Town Hall carried out a minute’s silence just before midday following the tragedy.

Lifeguards had already left the beach when the tragedy unfolded,a spokesman for Catalonia’s Civil Protection said.

Yellow flags,which urge bathers to be cautious when swimming,had been erected throughout the day on Tuesday on some beaches.

Catalan authorities said 16 people had died on their beaches since June 15

(Picture: Shutterstock / sdecoret)

The deaths mark the 15th and 16th fatalities on Catalan beaches since the beginning of the summer season began on June 15.

Catalonia’s Civil Protection reminded beachgoers of ‘the importance of taking extreme precautions on beaches,swimming pools and inland waters.’