Brit holidaymaker dies in 'drowning' after going for dip in sea at Costa Blanca beach

A British holidaymaker who went for a dip in the sea at a popular Spanish resort has died in a suspected drowning.

Emergency responders rushed to Guardamar beach, in Costa Blanca, Spain, after the 72-year-old was pulled unconscious from the water earlier today. They tried, unsuccessfully, to revive the older man following the tragedy at around 3.30pm today, finding he had gone into cardiac arrest.

The beach where the incident took place was just south of the Guardamar del Segura town centre, a short drive from Torrevieja, a popular hotspot for Brit holidaymakers. The Brit was the seventh person to die so far already this year on a Guardamar beach, following Bryn Thomas, from Southampton, was one of two men who lost their lives in June.

Mr Thomas died at the La Roqueta beach after racing into the sea to help two children aged six and seven who had gotten into difficulty in the water. An inquest was opened into the 52-year-old’s death in Winchester at the start of July. He died alongside a 46-year-old man from Poland who also went to help the youngsters.

Well-placed sources said they believed the unnamed Brit at the centre of the latest tragedy could have suffered a health problem prior to his drowning. conditions were good and the sea was calm when the 72-year-old died in the sea this afternoon.

Four of the earlier deaths in the municipality of Guardamar, including that of Good Samaritan Mr Thomas, occurred at the same beach of La Roqueta in just over 48 hours at the start of June. The other fatalities included a 68-year-old and a German national.

Lifeguards are set to continue working in the area, where currents are known to be strong, until October 15. Signs put up by the local council on beaches in English and Spanish warn bathers of dangerous ocean currents. Earlier today it emerged a man found dead on Tuesday afternoon after going diving off the coast of Majorca was British.

He was pulled lifeless out of the sea by the Malgrats Islands, two uninhabited islets opposite the Bay of Santa Ponsa a short drive from the holiday resort of Magaluf.