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| River Wear search at Fatfield: Two girls named | River Wear search at Fatfield: Two girls named |
| (about 2 hours 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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: "This is an absolute tragedy and our deepest sympathies are with the families of the two girls at what must be a devastating time for them. | |
| "They are obviously completely distraught at what has happened and we're doing everything possible to support them at this time. | |
| "At this stage we believe a group of friends had been at the riverside and two went into the water and the others tried to help, along with members of the public." | |
| 'Sobbed my heart out' | |
| About 100 emergency services staff and members of the public were involved in the search, which took about six hours. | |
| Joss Both, 14, who was in Chloe's class at school, said: "She was absolutely lovely, always smiling and laughing, she didn't have a bad bone in her body. She had lots of friends who loved her and she was really, really nice. | |
| "She was so funny as well, she had a wicked sense of humour... she always made you giggle. | |
| "I am absolutely gutted that she has gone. I sobbed my heart out last night." | |
| Supt Veitch added: "We're working to get appropriate support for witnesses, in particular the young people who were with the girls and saw what happened. | |
| "This has been traumatic for them and we're keen they are able to access support services. | |
| "Although we are investigating the circumstances of this incident it's always worth reminding people of the dangers of going into water such as rivers and lakes. | |
| "The River Wear is a fast-flowing, powerful river with strong currents which can be deceptive. We'd advise anyone not to enter the water." |