Essex beach tragedy LIVE: Mother and teenage daughter from east London drown in day-trip horror

A mother and daughter from east London have died after reportedly trying to rescue a seven-year-old family member from the water in Essex. The victims have been named as Shally Rahman, 42, and daughter Samiha Rahman, 15. Emergency services were called to the beach in West Mersea shortly after 5.30pm on Wednesday evening amid reports that several people had got into trouble in the water amid high tides. A seven-year-old child, said to be a cousin of Samiha, remains in serious condition in hospital, according to reports. Two more people are also in hospital with non-life threatening injuries. It is understood that the family, who are of Bangladeshi heritage, were visiting West Mersea from their home in east London. Essex Police said: “Despite the efforts of the emergency services, we can sadly confirm that a teenage girl and a woman in her 40s have died.”Follow the latest updates below...Burnham talks of dangers of open water swimmingPrime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will support local authorities following the death of a teenage girl and a woman who got into trouble in water off the Essex coast.Mr Burnham told ITV Anglia he was “so sad to hear the news” but added: “I don’t have the details at this moment in time.”He added: “It does bring over, sometimes, the dangers of open water swimming at this time of the year.“I just would ask people to consider that.“But thank you to the emergency services who stepped in and of course, you know, we will work to support the local authorities as we get to the bottom of this.”Prime Minister Andy BurnhamPA Wire'Just a working-class family going for a day out'Family friend Mishba Uddin, of Colchester, visited the scene at West Mersea on Thursday.He said that those involved “all came from London, they live in east London, one family live in Barking as far as I know, I don’t know about the other family”.Mr Uddin said he believed a young child had got into trouble in the water, and that an older cousin then tried to help.He said the child in a critical condition after the incident was a seven-year-old who was the cousin of the deceased child – a teenage girl, who Mr Uddin said was aged 15.He said he heard that “the little one got into trouble then the other one tried to save” them.He said the family were “just a working-class family going for a day out”.“We as a whole community are in shock actually,” he said.Mr Uddin said that as far as he knew the mother and teenage girl who died “were not very good swimmers”.What we know so farA seaside tragedy in Essex has sent shockwaves through the local community. Here is everything we know so far: A mother and daughter who died at a beach in Essex have been named by family as Shally Rahman, 42, and Samiha Rahman, 15. They are understood to have got into trouble in the water, with some reports suggesting they were attempting to rescue a child from the water Four other people have been taken to hospital after the incident A boy, 7, remains in a serious condition The incident happened at around 5:35pm on Wednesday. The coastguard and emergency services were in attendance, but were unable to save the mother and daughter Some reports have suggested the victims were relatives of a Bangladeshi politician. 'A big wave came' says family memberShally Rahman’s brother in law, Matiur Rahman, has spoken to press about the tragedy in West Mersea. He said he was left in tears after speaking to his brother over the phone, the BBC has reported. “They went in Colchester, [to the] seaside and they were near water and playing with them, then suddenly a big wave came,” he said. It is understood that around 10 members of the family were in attendance on the day trip. Family still coming to terms with the losses, says grandfatherThe father and grandfather of the victims, Mr Mujibur Rahman, said the family is still coming to terms with the losses, The Telegraph has reported. The mother and daughter are understood to have visited Mr Mujibur Rahman on Wednesday before leaving for the beach. Victim reported to be wife of Bangladeshi politicianShally Rahman is reported to be the wife of Dr Monsur Rahman, the leader of Jubo Dal UK, the youth wing of BNP. Dr Rahman is reportedly the son of Sylhet BNP leader Sheikh Mokhon Mia. Mrs Rahman is understood to have been a teacher in east London. Shally RahmanSocial media Pictured: 15-year-old Samiha RahmanThe family have released a picture of 15-year-old Samiha Rahman who died alongside her mother on Wednesday in West Mersea. Samiha RahmanFamily handout'They are a very nice and likeable family', says family friendA family friend who travelled to the scene spoke to press about the family. Mishba Uddin told reporters that those involved all came from east London for the day. He said the father is of Bangladeshi heritage, but he “only knows the grandfather very well.”Mr Uddin added: “They are a very nice and likeable family.” The scene in West Mersea, Essex, after a teenage girl and a woman in her 40s have died after a group got into difficultyPA WireMother and daughter from east London named by authoritiesThe mother and daughter have now been named as Shally Rahman, 42, and Samiha Rahman, 15. A seven-year-old-boy is also in a serious condition in hospital. The family were understood have come from east London and Barking to West Mersea. Woman and girl died after ‘tide came in while group was on sandbank’An eyewitness said the tragedy happened as the tide came in while a group of people were on a sandbank.A woman, who did not give her name, said the incident at West Mersea happened at high tide.She told the Press Association: “The tide was a lot further in than it is now and that sandbank, they were on there and the tide came in.“It comes in very quickly and you have to be careful.”Speaking while sitting at a beach hut, the woman said there was “quite a commotion” and “just total panic”.Discussing the aftermath of the incident, she said there was a “helicopter coming in, the helicopter circling and sirens going everywhere”.The eyewitness added: “That was quite alarming, for a small place like this, I think that’s why so many people are shocked.“I mean the beach was packed with people, they were coming down to see what was going on.”