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| British boy feared drowned after being swept into sea in France | British boy feared drowned after being swept into sea in France |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| A 13-year-old British boy is feared dead after being swept into the sea in northern France. | |
| It is understood the teenager had been on a beach in Boulogne-sur-Mer with his two younger brothers when he got into difficulty. | It is understood the teenager had been on a beach in Boulogne-sur-Mer with his two younger brothers when he got into difficulty. |
| A rescue operation was launched shortly after 6pm on Monday and continued late into the night, but the boy could not be found. | |
| A search involving police and a fire crew resumed on Tuesday morning, but the teenager was not expected to be recovered alive, the president of Boulogne lifeboat station said. | A search involving police and a fire crew resumed on Tuesday morning, but the teenager was not expected to be recovered alive, the president of Boulogne lifeboat station said. |
| Gerard Barron said the boy, thought to have been on holiday in the area with his family, had been in a channel where the water flowed “fairly fast” and was not for use by swimmers. | Gerard Barron said the boy, thought to have been on holiday in the area with his family, had been in a channel where the water flowed “fairly fast” and was not for use by swimmers. |
| He said there was no chance of survival in the water after such a long time. “At this time of the year for somebody in tiptop condition, the temperature of the water indicates a maximum survival time of about two to two and a half hours,” he said. | |
| “So obviously this morning there is absolutely no chance of finding him alive. The search is now being done by the police and the fire brigade. It is now a judicial inquiry.” | “So obviously this morning there is absolutely no chance of finding him alive. The search is now being done by the police and the fire brigade. It is now a judicial inquiry.” |
| Nicolas Leclet, of the fire and rescue department, said a witness told his colleagues the two younger boys tried to help their sibling. | |
| “They tried to help him but as yet we do not know exactly what has happened. It will be decided later whether to continue the search,” he said. | |
| A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: “We are providing support to the family of a British national who has been reported missing at sea in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time. We are in close contact with the local authorities.” |