Body found in search for British teenager, 19, who vanished during swim with friends on beach near The Hague in the Netherlands
A body has been found in the search for the missing British teenager who vanished during a swim with friends off the coast of the Netherlands in the North Sea.
The missing 19-year-old was together with her three friends on a beach near The Hague when she vanished while swimming. The three friends, all believed to be Brits, were rescued after being found covered in blood by emergency workers.
They are all said to have been caught up in the "wild" sea before getting into serious trouble near the Zuidelijk Havenhoofd in the Netherlands at about 8.30pm on Sunday (25 August).
It is believed that the three people with the missing teen all tried to rescue her despite the sea sweeping the group away. A shocked witness told Dutch news site Omroep West that two of the male friends were found with blood across their bodies.
They said: “They both had legs covered in blood. There was also a mother there who was panicking and screaming. The water was so wild, really impassable. Those boys barely survived.”
An official said the cuts would have been caused by the boys crashing into the rocky terrain that surrounds the harbour that separates the Ijduin and Scheveningen Beaches. All three of the tourists were taken to the local hospital for routine checks.
Dozens of rescue workers looking across the seafront for any sign of the British teenager. Boats and helicopters took part in the hunt along with teams walking through the water holding up flashlights. A crane was also used to scour the vast sea and rocky surrounding areas.
The search was called off late on Sunday as it became dark, but resumed on Monday morning. On Tuesday night, authorities recovered a body near Scheveningen. Police believe it is the teen's body but formal identification is yet to take place.