Helen's Bay death: Woman who died was regular swimmer at popular beach
A woman who lost her life in a tragic swimming accident at Helen's Bay at the weekend was a regular swimmer at the local beauty spot, an MLA has said.
On Sunday police reported that a woman in her 60s had died following an incident in Helen’s Bay the day before.
Three people were taken to hospital after getting into difficulty at Helen’s Bay beach, Belfast Coastguard said.
The Coastguard said several onlookers had attempted to rescue the trio – with one person entering the water.
A Coastguard helicopter, RNLI lifeboat and ambulances all took part in the operation at Belfast Lough.
The Coastguard has asked anyone at the scene, who was affected by the incident, to contact them.
North Down UUP MLA Alan Chambers understood the woman was a regular swimmer at Helen's Bay.
He understands she is not local but from the greater Belfast area.
“Helen's Bay is not known for dangerous currents,” he said.
“But it is susceptible to changes in wind direction. Belfast Lough can get quite choppy.
“I think the beach is reasonably sheltered from most wind directions but there is reported to be a westerly wind which can whip the water up and the wind direction can change pretty quickly.”
Having watched a video of the aftermath of the rescue, he said the waves of three to four feet high were breaking on the beach at the time.
“All interaction with the sea must be approached with caution as conditions can change so quickly,” he said.
“My information is that the lady who died would have been a regular swimmer in that location.
“If you go down any day of the week and there are swimmers there and they are all very safety conscious.
“They swim in groups and they always have one of the big fluorescent floats with them.
“My thoughts are with the grieving family and those who tried to rescue them.”
He also praised the “brave” passers-by who went into the water to try and rescue the lady.
The Met Office Yellow issued a yellow warning for heavy rain right across Northern Ireland on Saturday, which came into effect from 6pm.
A Met Office spokesman said the mean wind speed in Bangor on Saturday by 3pm was around 37mph but that there were gusts of up to 55mph during the day.
The maximum temperature was 7.8C to 8C with 9.2mm of rain.
Asked if there were any currents on the beach the Coastguard and RNLI declined to comment.
The News Letter editor Ben Lowry said he had swum many times on both Crawfordsburn and Helen's Bay beaches.
“Generally these beaches are seen as very safe, with minimal currents if you are close to shore, so this is shocking and tragic news,” he added.
According to myni.life website, Helen’s Bay Beach “shelves gently and is generally considered to be safe for bathers”".
It adds: “Bathers are advised to stay out of the sea 48hrs after heavy rainfall.”
It reports that bathing season is June 1 to mid September and advises sea swimmers: “There is no lifeguard service in operation on this beach. People deciding to swim and enter the sea do so at their own risk.”