One person is missing at sea and five others have been pulled from the water near Clacton Pier in Essex, the coastguard said.
Emergency services have been called to the scene and a major search and rescue operation is underway to find the man after the group got into trouble on the shore.
Nigel Brown, Clacton Pier’s communications manager, said the current “drew them” towards the pier.
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At least six people drowned while swimming in the heat.
A man in his 20s died on Monday while swimming in a lake at Cotswold Water Park in Wiltshire.
Police were called shortly after 6pm but the man was pronounced dead shortly after being pulled from the water.
In Essex, when the group was swept out to sea, pier staff threw life jackets over the side to help some of those in distress, Mr Brown said.
“Eight of them were in the water but I think four or five got in trouble,” he said.
“As far as I understand, one person was missing.
“The group that was in the water was very worried about one person they couldn’t see and they were saying, ‘One is missing.’
“As far as I know, this person is still missing. They raised the helicopter.”
Mr Brown said it was “difficult to tell their ages” but he believed some were in their late teens and early 20s and fully clothed.
Essex Police said: “We are on the scene assisting emergency service colleagues at a serious and ongoing incident near Clacton Pier.
“There is a significant presence of emergency services in the area while the incident is dealt with. We will provide an update as soon as we practically can.”
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HM Coastguard said it was responding to a “report of multiple people in the water”.
A spokesman said: “HM Coastguard are currently responding to an incident at Clacton Pier following reports of multiple people in the water.
“Five people have been rescued, with a sixth person still being sought.”
Authorities have warned of the risks of swimming in the heat.
A 14-year-old went missing while swimming in London’s River Thames, while a 13-year-old died on Monday after getting into trouble in a Northumberland river.
Another boy, aged 16, also died on Monday at Lake Bray in Berkshire.
Thames Valley Police named him Sean Norbert Anyanwu and his family described him as “the light of the family… he was everything we could have asked for”.
They said: “We are devastated by his loss and would like our privacy to be respected while we grieve.”
On Saturday, a 50-year-old man lost his life at Ardsley Reservoir in Yorkshire, and another 16-year-old boy died after getting into trouble on Salford Quays in Greater Manchester.
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