The bodies of three women have been recovered from the sea in Brighton.

Sussex Police was called at around 5.45am today to ‘concerns for the welfare of a person in the water’.

Three women’s bodies were then shortly discovered in the sea near Madeira Drive. Police have said they are not searching for anyone else.

The force said it is making ‘fast-moving’ enquiries to confirm the identities of the women and to discover what happened.

Two bodies are understood to have been removed with one woman still lying on the pebbles, covered by an orange body bag with two police officers standing over.

Officers are currently standing guard by a cordon on a section of the seafront close to Brighton Marina. A large number of patrol cars and a police van are stationed in a nearby car park.

People have been urged to stay away from the scene while police carry out their investigation which includes scouring CCTV footage from homes and businesses.

This morning there were more than a dozen police officers, police vans and cars as well as HM Coastguard Search and Rescue officers and equipment at the scene.

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Police officers and patrol cars in Madeira Drive, Brighton, after the bodies of three women were pulled from the water

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Police stand on the beach at Black Rock near Brighton Marina where the bodies of three women were pulled from the water

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RNLI crews from Brighton Lifeboat and Shoreham All-weather were also involved in the search

Chief Superintendent Adam Hays held a brief press conference at the scene at lunchtime where he told reporters the priority was to identify all three women and to contact their next of kin.

‘I know this incident will be highly distressing for the community and you’re working hard with our partners to understand exactly what has happened,’ he said.

‘This includes gathering, viewing CCTV, the surrounding area, including the properties and the local businesses nearby.

‘Our partners of the Coast Guard have completed an extensive search of the water, and at this stage, we are not searching for anyone else.’

He had said in an earlier statement: ‘This is a tragic incident and fast-moving enquiries are ongoing to confirm the identities of these three women and understand exactly what has happened.

‘I know this is concerning for the community, but I would ask the public to stay away from the scene at this time while emergency services continue their work.

‘We will provide further updates as soon as they are available.’

The area is to remain closed for at least the rest of the afternoon.

One walker said: ‘It’s absolutely tragic. I heard they were found close to the shore and pulled out but nothing could be done to save them. There were loads of ambulances and police here from very early.

‘The conditions are not right for sea swimming today. It is very, very windy and there is a strong current that pushes people east from the pier.

‘It is not inconceivable the women went into the sea near the Brighton Palace Pier around half a mile away and got pushed this way. This just goes to show how dangerous it can be.’

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An HM Coastguard helicopter was seen hovering above the water earlier this morning

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Officers are currently standing guard by a cordon on a section of the seafront close to Brighton Marina

Brighton is busy with visitors at present with the Brighton Festival in full swing featuring music, partying, theatre and other events.

One resident speculated the women may have gone for a late night swim and got into difficulty.

She said: ‘People in high spirits sometimes decide to go for a swim late at night. With the festival on at the moment I suppose these poor women may have decided on a late night dip with tragic results. They may have gone into the sea closer to the pier and got into trouble.’

Business owners close to the seafront said sea swimmers regularly entered the water early in the morning but generally showed caution and would not swim if the sea was ‘too rough’.

Brighton and Hove Swimming Club has a small office based on the seafront which was empty today.

A restaurant owner said: ‘The sea was really choppy this morning and the sea swimmers haven’t been there all morning.

‘They don’t generally go in if it’s too rough. My feeling is the three women have possibly gone for a nighttime dip and been swept towards Black Rock. It’s an absolute tragedy.’

He said police officers had been round asking for CCTV footage from businesses around the pier.

‘We don’t have cameras,’ he said. ‘But I know police were asking a couple of other businesses.’

An HM Coastguard helicopter was seen hovering above the water earlier this morning, as well as Coastguard Rescue Teams from Shoreham, Newhaven, Littlehampton and Birling Gap.

Three RNLI crews from Brighton Lifeboat and Shoreham All-weather were also involved in the search after they were launched at around 6am.

The lifeboats have since been stood down.

Bella Sankey, the leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said she was ‘shocked and deeply saddened’ to hear that three women had died.

‘My heart goes out to the friends and family of these women and on behalf of Brighton & Hove, I send sincere condolences,’ she said.

Chris Ward, the Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, said it was ‘deeply tragic news and understandably very concerning for our community and everyone affected’.

‘I would like to thank our emergency services for their swift response and the difficult work they continue to carry out at the scene,’ he added.

Early morning sea swimming in Brighton is very popular with dozens of people taking to the waves each day – some members of sea swimming clubs.

However conditions this morning are very windy with a strong easterly wind causing a choppy sea with a strong riptide moving west to east.