WATCH: Couple Talks Attempt to Save Drowning Woman and Mother

A couple have told the BBC how they tried to save a mother and daughter who drowned off an Essex beach on Wednesday.

Craig and Carly Bowe were traveling with their children from Hertfordshire when they heard a cry for help from a family in need.

Despite the incoming tide, Craig wades into the sea three times to pull himself back to sea, while Carly calls emergency services.

“I wanted them to be saved,” she told the BBC.

Despite the couple’s efforts and multiple attempts from other beachgoers and emergency crews, the mother, 41, and daughter, 15, died at the scene. Two boys were put on a lifeboat and a 7-year-old boy was airlifted to hospital in critical condition.