Coastguard calls off search for brothers, 16 and 18, who vanished off Lancashire coast
Pictured: Brothers aged 16 and 18 who went missing when they were cut off by rising tides in the Irish Sea – as police hunting them find two bodies
- Bodies found in sea search for Muhammad Azhar Shabbir and Ali Athar Shabbir
- The brothers went missing near St Annes Pier in Lytham St Annes on Saturday
- Coastguard were sent out after the teenagers were cut off by the tide yesterday
- A 15-year-old boy managed to swim to shore and is being treated in hospital
Published: 03:57 EDT, 16 August 2020 | Updated: 14:14 EDT, 16 August 2020
Two bodies have been found this evening after a desperate search for two missing teenage brothers who vanished in the Irish Sea off the Lancashire coast.
Muhammad Azhar Shabbir, 18, and Ali Athar Shabbir, 16 went missing near to the pier in Lytham St Annes at around 6.40pm yesterday after being cut off by the rising tide.
A 15-year-old boy, a cousin of the two boys, is being treated in hospital after he managed to swim to the shore.
All three teenagers are from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.
A rescue operation was launched by HM Coastguard after a 999 call reporting that three teenagers were in difficulty in the water near to St Anne’s Pier.
But Lancashire Police and the coastguard announced earlier today that the search had been called off after crews were unable to locate the two missing brothers.
This evening, the force has revealed that two bodies have now been found.
While police are yet to formally identify the bodies, a spokesperson for the force said its officers believe they are that of the two missing brothers.
Police earlier called off the search for West Yorkshire brothers Muhammad Azhar Shabbir, 18 (left) and Ali Athar Shabbir, 16 (right) after they went missing yesterday
Two bodies have today been found in the search for two missing teenager brothers who vanished in the sea off the Lancashire coast
Muhammad Azhar Shabbir, 18, and Ali Athar Shabbir, 16 went missing near St Annes Pier on Saturday evening
Coastguard, police and RNLI crews continued to search for the teenagers today, but Lancashire Police called off the search earlier today
In a statement, Lancashire Police said: ‘Our HM Coastguard and RNLI colleagues searching for missing brothers Muhammad Azhar Shabbir, 18, and Ali Athar Shabbir, 16, from Dewsbury have sadly found two bodies this afternoon.
‘Whilst they have yet to be formally identified, they are believed to be Muhammad and Ali.
‘Their family have been notified and are continuing to be supported by a specially trained officer. Our thoughts remain with them.’
Officers also revealed the 15-year-old boy being treated in hospital is a cousin of Muhammad and Ali.
Lancashire Police said searches to find Muhammad and Ali, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire may resume later
Coastguard rescue teams from Lytham and Fleetwood and the coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Caernarfon attended the scene on Saturday after they received a 999 call just before 6.40pm, said HM Coastguard.
They were joined by RNLI lifeboats from Lytham St Annes and Blackpool, and independent rescue service Southport Lifeboat, together with Lancashire Police and North West Ambulance Service.
The RNLI said it was all-weather lifeboat in Lytham searched ‘through the night’ for the brothers, before it was joined at first light by two more vessels.
Coastguard helicopters were deployed yesterday but eventually called off during the search.
A Lancashire Police spokesman added: ‘Our HM Coastguard and RNLI colleagues searched the water well into the night and resumed early this morning.
‘They have unfortunately been unsuccessful and both Muhammad and Ali remain missing.
‘Their family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.
‘Our thoughts remain with them at this incredibly sad and difficult time.’
Emergency workers were searching into last night to try and find the missing 16-year-old and 18-year-old
RNLI lifeboats from Lytham St Annes and Blackpool, and independent rescue service Southport Lifeboat joined the Coastguard and police yesterday in the desperate search
The search for two teenagers began on Saturday night after they went missing at around 6.40pm
Having launched a search yesterday, police urged people not to help out at the scene
Last week five bodies were pulled from waters around the country in the space of 48 hours.
Last Sunday a mother in her 30s drowned at Waxham in Norfolk after she jumped into the sea to rescue her son and his friend, who had got into difficulty in a kayak.
Less than two hours later the body of 12-year-old Ava Gray was found in the River Leven, near Balloch Bridge in Scotland, following a lengthy search.
On Monday a Sussex man’s body was pulled from the water off Lancing beach, the RNLI announced a second body was found the following day.
There was further tragedy on Monday as the body of man in his 60s was pulled from the water in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex.
Police are treating the death as unexplained but not suspicious.
