Hero father dies after saving his daughter in sea
A BRITISH holidaymaker died after trying to save his 10-year-old daughter as they were swept towards rocks while swimming off a Spanish beach.
Bathers leapt in the water to help rescue Reece Morris, 40, and the girl who were being dragged by the strong current.
Moments later, lifeguards reached Mr Morris who had been holding his daughter and brought him to safety.
He was able to stand at first but then collapsed and died in front of his wife and younger daughter, aged five, despite attempts to revive him.
Witnesses said a red flag warning was flying when the pair went into the water but that it was too far away and not on the sand.
The tragedy took place at 2.30pm on Sunday at El Penoncillo beach near the town of Torrox in the eastern Costa del Sol.
Samuel Pozo, 35, from Malaga, who helped save Mr Morris’s daughter, said: “I didn’t think twice about jumping into the water when I saw it was a young girl.
“The current was very strong and pushed us towards the rocks. I was not the first to reach the man who was holding his daughter. Another swimmer reached him before me and he passed the girl to me.
“I helped lift her on to nearby rocks. By then there was a crowd who helped her out. If it hadn’t been for me and the other people who helped, the child would have died as well.”
Mr Pozo added: “The red flag was up but flying from a watchtower 300 metres (1,000ft) away.
“Being foreigners, it’s probably they didn’t see it because it was so far away. It should have been on the sand.”
Friends of Mr Morris, from Walthamstow in east London, paid tribute to him yesterday on Facebook.
One said: “God bless you and your family Reece. I can’t believe you’re gone man. Miss you.”
Jay Carter said: “My best friend sadly passed away as a hero. Saving his own daughter from drowning in the sea, while holidaying in Spain. I’m going to miss you so much Reece.”
A post-mortem examination was due to take place yesterday. It is the 12th fatal drowning on a beach in Malaga this year.