Father drowns trying to save his son
British father and his seven-year-old son who were “loved by all who knew them” drown off the coast of Majorca.
The boy, thought to be the man’s son, was struggling in the water when his father tried to save him.
They were both swept out to sea as the boy’s mother and sisters watched from the shore, according to local newspaper reports.
The victims were named as George Selby, reportedly aged 28, and his son Louis.
Christine Selby, George’s mother and grandmother to Louis confirmed their deaths.
“George was passionate about his wife Abigail and their three sons,” she said. “This tragedy that has befallen this family has devastated the lives of his wife, sons, and mother.
“George, Louis and their family were – and still are – loved by all that knew them. Please allow us to grieve for our devastating loss of a truly heroic husband, father, son, brother. And Louis our little bear.”
Mr Selby reportedly went into the water after his son was caught by a wave while standing on steps cut into the rocks. The boy’s mother alerted lifeguards from a nearby hotel but they were unable to save them in time.
The accident happened at Cala Antena beach, a small bay near the Calas de Mallorca resort on the south east coast of the island.
The Foreign Office confirmed that a British man and his seven-year-old son had drowned. “We are aware of the tragic deaths of two British nationals in Majorca on September 1,” said a spokeswoman. “We are providing consular assistance to the family.”
According to reports, Mr Selby had been taking photographs of his son by the rocks shortly before he was swept away at around 11am yesterday. A local newspaper said the family had arrived for a holiday on the Balearic island just two days earlier.
Coastguards had put out a red flag to warn visitors not to enter the sea at the time.
Last month five-year-old Lara Lewis and her grandfather Brian O’Dwyer, 66, both drowned near the holiday resort of Nazare, around 60 miles north of Lisbon in Portugal. It is thought Lara was walking with her grandparents along a sandy beach when they were all pulled into the sea by strong waves on August 22.
Just a day later, Cambridge University student Marcus Hughes-Hallett drowned while swimming off the Maltese island of Comino. The 20-year-old, who was studying maths at Queens’ College, is believed to have got into difficulties while snorkelling in caves in the Bay of Santa Marija during a family holiday.