Callum Baker-Osborne: Teen sacrificed his life to save sister and her 3 children from drowning in rip current
POOLE, UK: A teenager sacrificed his own life to save his sister after he rescued three of her children from a fiery rip current on a Dorset beach in 2021. Callum Baker-Osborne, 18, rescued his two nephews and a niece after an "incredibly strong wave" knocked them into the sea while at a beach in Dorset. Osborne then swept towards his sister, Samantha Osborne-Ward, after getting worn out from the rescue mission and clung to her for help. However, he immediately let go of her when she told him that she was at risk of drowning.
Tragically, Osborne disappeared under the water and his body was recovered after four days. The heart-wrenching incident took place on the afternoon of July 26, 2021, while the family was on a last-minute caravan holiday at Haven Rockley Park in Poole, Dorset. The family consisting of 30 members had gone to a beach near Black Bridge to enjoy what was supposed to be the "nicest weather of the holiday".
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Apparently the children began struggling when the family was dragged by a 'blast' of water as they paddled in the sea. Before saving the life of his nephew, Cameron, Baker-Osborne dove into the water to rescue his other nephew, Byron, 8. The 18-year-old heard his sister crying for help after helping her boys to get above the water. Samantha pled as her seven-year-old daughter, Aurora, was being swept away by the waves.
Without making any delay, Baker-Osborne powered through the water to rescue Aurora and lifted her over his head and to the safety of a rescue boat. The family hadn't been to many beaches before, according to the Bournemouth inquest and some younger family members hadn't been to the sea before because of the lockdown. Baker-Osborne's sister told the inquest how her brother was excited to go to the beach and take his nephews and nieces swimming.
"I was up to my knees in the water near my mum and some of the kids were enjoying walking along," she said, while detailing the horrifying ordeal, rwported The Mirror. "Aurora got scared and asked to go on my back and Kylan was in front of us kicking water. I remember turning around and seeing Callum diving towards Byron, then a sudden big gush of water tugged us under. It was the biggest blast, we all got wiped out and then we struggled up. The first thing I saw was Aurora out in the water drowning and alone. I screamed for someone to help."
Samantha added, "Callum was helping Cameron and I knew he was the strongest swimmer so I called for him to help. He was struggling to get to Aurora because the water was pushing him towards me. I was trying to get over to help her too and I was also holding Nalla who was screaming. I saw Callum pushing Aurora up out of the water and into the air telling her to breathe." She continued, "He drifted towards me and he held onto me for help, he was exhausted. I told him he was drowning me and he instantly let go. I went under the water again and this time he didn't come back up with us.".
Ann Marie Osbourne, Callum's mother, was also in the water moments before the rip current struck. She was trying to help eight-year-old Byron. "I was just helping Byron out of the water, he'd gone under earlier so I thought I'd take him back to shore," she said. "Then Imogen (another eight-year-old) hit my back with some force, she came out of nowhere. I could hear her saying 'don't let me drown'. I had Byron on one arm and Imogen on the other and suddenly the floor was gone. I was just trying to keep them both above the water, I was being pushed around in a spiral." She added, "I couldn't understand what was happening. I had given everything I could. I passed the kids to Patrick who had come to help and the next thing I knew I was on a boat and someone was telling me to breath. All I could think was where was Imogen? Both those kids were incredibly brave, they kept me going."
On the morning of July 30, 2021, Baker-Osborne's body was recovered at Lake Pier in Hamworthy. Following the incident, a huge air and sea search was launched to look for him. As per the post-mortem report, he died from drowning and his family has since called for the Rockley Point beach to be closed due to its notorious rip currents.