Police in South West England, particularly Devon have warned people not to swim in the sea after two men went missing on Christmas Day.
Devon and Cornwall Police said the men, aged in their 40s and 60s, got into difficulty in the water off Budleigh Salterton beach on Christmas morning.
Emergency services were alerted at about 10.25am after concerns were raised about people in the sea.
A major search was also launched involving HM Coastguard, RNLI lifeboats, and rescue teams from Exmouth and Beer. Lifeboats from Exmouth, Teignmouth, and Torbay also took part. Despite extensive efforts, the search was called off on Thursday evening.
Detective Superintendent Hayley Costar described the incident as truly tragic and reminded the public that weather warnings had been in place throughout the week.
She said several organised and informal Christmas swims had already been cancelled and urged anyone planning to swim on Boxing Day to stay out of the sea.
A yellow weather warning for strong winds has been affecting parts of Devon and Cornwall, leading to the cancellation of many Christmas and Boxing Day swims across the region.
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