The men, believed to have been on a day trip, are thought to come from greater London.
Advertisement
The friends may have been pulled to their deaths by the powerful riptide but Sussex Police is yet to say why they think the men got in trouble, leading to concerns from beachgoers about their own safety.
Mr Ravi’s younger brother, Ajirthan, 19, said his brother had died after trying to rescue two of his friends who had become trapped underneath the water.
Emergency crews were scrambled after a passer-by reported seeing a woman diving into the sea at 8am and not coming back.
The MCA said that the search units included the Rye and Dungeness coastguard rescue teams, the coastguard helicopter from Lydd, the Rye inshore lifeboat, the Dungeness all-weather lifeboat and the independent lifeboat from Pett.
“I think it would be quite hard to have a lifeguard here with so many thousands of people here and such a large beach (but) I suppose it would be good to have a station here”.
They were named as Nitharsan Ravi, Kuru Anna, Inthushan Sri and brothers Kobi and Ken Nathan and are from the Tamil community in Greenwich, south London. These patrols are supported over the summer months by Sussex Police.
Chief Superintendent Di Roskilly, of Sussex Police, said: “This has been an incredibly tragic incident and we are offering their next of kin support at this hard time and our thoughts are with them”.
The bodies of the two other victims were discovered at around 8pm when the tide went out on the seven-mile beach where thousands of holidaymakers had spent the hottest day of the year.
A spokesperson added: “Officers at the scene are doing coastal checks to see if there are any persons swimming having difficulty”.
A Rother District Council spokesman said that while there were no lifeguards, regular assessments were carried out at the beach. Beach patrol staff advise people about danger in the water but can not perform sea rescues. If you see photographs of the sea at the time, it’s very calm.
It is the second time a serious incident has taken place recently at Camber Sands.
Mr Ravi’s family were “very angry” at the lack of response to the death of Brazilian Gustavo Silva Da Cruz, 19, at Camber last month.
More people have started visiting who may not be familiar with the area, they added.
Advertisement
“This has included visitors entering the sea although they’re not able to swim and in some cases entering the water fully clothed”. Ken and Indu were underneath the water and the emergency services didn’t know they were there.
