The force said today “early investigation indicates that there was no physical contact between a vessel and any swimmers at the time of the incident”, no jetskis were involved and there was no suggestion people were jumping into the sea.
A 17-year-old boy from Southampton and the girl, from Buckinghamshire – died following an incident on Wednesday afternoon. They were unrelated, officers have confirmed.
Dorset Police said an investigation was now under way and a man in his 40s, who the force said was on the water at the time, has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
Eight other people were treated at the scene for non-life threatening injuries.
The force said today that “early investigation indicates that there was no physical contact between a vessel and any swimmers at the time of the incident”.
At a press conference in Bournemouth, Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Farrell also said there was no suggestion that people were jumping into the sea from the pier or that jetskis were involved.
“We are working with partner agencies to understand what has caused the tragedy,” Dorset Police said in a statement.
“We are investigating the circumstances that caused a number of swimmers to get into difficulty. Further information will be released as the investigation progresses.”
Tom Saunders, a surfer who helped with the search operation, said he heard “lifeguard sirens going off, making an announcement, and then the beach got cleared either side”.
“So obviously, I knew something had gone on. We heard the helicopters coming so knew it was serious,” he said.
Mr Saunders and three other surfers searched areas of the pier where the lifeguards’ jetskis could not reach.
“They said there were two people missing at the time and then after about a half hour they said everyone was accounted for,” he added.
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