Ten die, 8 missing in UK tide
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LONDON (Reuters) -- At least 10 Chinese shellfish hunters drowned and eight are missing after they were caught by a fast-rising tide on a beach in northwest England, the coastguard says.
A group of around 25 cockle gatherers were cut off from the shore in Morecombe Bay, Lancashire, late Thursday.
Seven were rescued or managed to wade or swim ashore.
"At least 10 have died and there are possibly more dead," coastguard spokesman Martin Collins said Friday.
Police coordinating the rescue said military helicopters and the coastguard began searching for the group when the alarm was raised after dark Thursday.
A Defense Ministry spokeswoman said two Air Force helicopters were searching for the missing people in the darkness.
Some of the men were "last seen up to their waists" in water as the tide was coming in, she said.
Locals often go out onto the beach to harvest cockles, which live just below the surface of muddy sand and are eaten after being shelled and cooked.
But the tides in the bay are dangerous for those not used them, especially at night.
The incoming sea can sometimes surround the unwary, quickly cutting them off from shore.
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Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
