Body of teenager, 19, pulled out of sea after swimming with friends in Netherlands

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emails

The body of a teenage girl has been pulled from the North Sea after a Summer holiday swim with friends turned to tragedy.

The British teenager, 19, got into trouble in the tide alongside three friends at the popular surfing spot of Scheveningen near The Hague at 8.30pm on Sunday.

Dutch coastguards saved the others but the girl wasn’t found until a body was pulled from harbour head at around 7pm on Tuesday after a desperate search involving cranes, divers and helicopters.

Local police for The Hague said in a post on X: “Last night we found a deceased person at ZuidelijkHavenhoofd in Scheveningen . It concerns the 19-year-old British woman who went missing at sea on Sunday.”

Witnesses reported hearing the mother’s screams as she disappeared in the waves near the holiday resort. Two other boys were spotted with blood pouring from their legs after they had gone into to try and save her.

It’s believed the two sustained injuries after being hit against a rocky pier separating the Ijduin and Scheveningen Beaches.

A local person said the boys would have had no chance to save the teenager. “The boys barely survived,” he said.

Another said more signs warning of the dangers of the raging North Sea should be put up along the coast line.

He said: “To my surprise, I found the only sign this afternoon at the place where a young lady drowned on Sunday evening. Right near the Southern harbor head.

“The warning sign shows two hands coming out of the sea, in fact, this doesn’t need any text in any language, but it is there, in four languages.

“I think these signs should come back along our beaches. Each drowning is one too many.

“We didn’t all grow up here on Scheveningen where we were taught from a young age no further than your knees in the water and the dangers of our North Sea.”

The Foreign Office has been approached for comment.