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River Wear search at Fatfield: Two girls named | River Wear search at Fatfield: Two girls named |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Two teenage girls, whose bodies were found by police divers in the River Wear in Tyne and Wear, have been named. | Two teenage girls, whose bodies were found by police divers in the River Wear in Tyne and Wear, have been named. |
Passers-by tried to rescue the pair after they got into difficulty near a viaduct in Fatfield, Washington just before 15:00 BST on Tuesday. | |
The bodies of Chloe Fowler, 14, from Shiney Row and Tonibeth Purvis, 15, from Barmston, were later discovered. | |
Northumbria Police said inquiries would now be carried out into the circumstances surrounding the deaths. | |
Onlookers said they believed the girls jumped into the river for "fun" and to "keep cool" but this has not been confirmed by police. | Onlookers said they believed the girls jumped into the river for "fun" and to "keep cool" but this has not been confirmed by police. |
Northumbria Police said the river was still tidal at the point where the girls went missing and there was a lot of debris and foliage in the water. | |
Supt Alan Veitch said: "There were two people on the banks who saw the children in difficulty. | |
"One was an off-duty police officer going for a run who dived in and saved a boy who was trying to save one of the missing girls. | |
"Another gentleman dived in and swam the width of the river to get to one of the girls but he came up empty-handed. He was distraught, as you can imagine." | "Another gentleman dived in and swam the width of the river to get to one of the girls but he came up empty-handed. He was distraught, as you can imagine." |
About 100 emergency services staff were involved in the search, which took about six hours. | About 100 emergency services staff were involved in the search, which took about six hours. |