Father Who Could Not Swim Died Tried Save Drowning Seven Year Old Son Coast-Majorca

A brave father who drowned when he jumped into the sea in a desperate bid to save his young son had never learnt to swim, his best friend has revealed.
George Selby, 27, jumped in after seeing his son, Louis, seven, swept away by a wave whilst on their first ever holiday abroad – witnessed by their wife and mother Abigail.
But sadly neither survived the tragic accident yesterday.

The family, including  Abigail’s two sons from a previous relationship Mitchell, believed to be 14 and Dylan, believed to be 12, and her niece Olivia, had only left for Majorca from their home in Hornchurch, Essex, the previous day.
George's best friend, Graham Klerks said the loving father would ‘never have stood by and watched his son drown’ despite being unable to swim.
The boy was standing on a stairway cut into rocks overlooking a small deserted cove called Cala Antena in the south east of the Spanish island when he was washed out to sea by a large wave.
His father dived in to try to save him but drowned in the attempt.
Mrs Selby ran screaming for help, and lifeguards from a nearby hotel raced to the scene and tried to rescue the two holidaymakers but could do nothing to save them.
Witnesses said they saw Mr Selby shouting for help from the sea, waving his arms in the air.
According to one local report, he had been taking photographs of his son by the rocks shortly before the tragedy, which happened at around 11am yesterday.
It was raining lightly and a red flag was flying on the beach warning bathers not to enter the sea.
Police and an ambulance arrived in Cala Antena, on the Spanish island's south east coast, but it was too late to save the two Brits.

Louis Selby was swept off this rock platform in Cala Antena while his father George was taking his photo. The 28-year-old died trying to save his seven-year-old son who also drowned

The father and son drowned off the Majorca coast, pictured

George's best friend, Graham Klerks, today paid tribute to the George and his young son, saying the two were very alike.
The 31-year-old banker said: ‘George going out into the sea to rescue Louis is him down to a tee.
‘The tragic thing is that George could not swim but I honestly can't imagine him standing by the side and watching his son drown.
‘For whatever reason he had never learned to swim. It's so tragic.
‘You could not ask for a more decent guy than George.
‘He had been stressing about going abroad for the first time - we was worried about everything being alright.
‘It was very much their dream holiday - they normally went away to Clacton on Sea, but this was their holiday of a lifetime.’
Graham - who had only returned from his home in Sydney, Australia on Wednesday - was staying with the family at their three-bedroom house.
He has heard from Abigail via text messages since the tragedy happened at about 11am yesterday.
He said: ‘She is holding it together for the kids as best she can but it must be incredibly hard right now.’

A red flag was raised at the time of the incident, warning visitors not to swim in the sea, pictured

Abigail's mum has flown out to Majorca to support her devastated daughter.
George worked as an assistant manager at a Cash Concepts store in Romford and the family had moved from a small maisonette to a large rented three-bedroom house.
Graham added that George treated Mitchell and Dylan as if they were his own.
He added: ‘George loved all three of his boys so much.
‘He and Louis were alike in so many ways - they knew what they wanted and would go for it. ‘
‘Louis was like his dad - he would try and get whatever he could and he would carry on until he was told not to.
‘George was quite a straight forward bloke, he would tell it how it was.
‘But he was also very kind and generous. When I flew back into the UK, he offered to pay for my taxi back from
Heathrow even though he was not rich and in a position to be doing that.
‘They were working hard to make a better life for themselves.’
Abigail was working part time at a local Harvester Pub as a barmaid to help bring in for income for the family.
He added that the couple married about a year ago, and had taken in Abigail's sister's daughter, Olivia, who was out on holiday with them when the tragedy occurred.
George and Abigail met about eight years ago when she moved in next door to his family in in Chadwell Heath.

Resort: George Selby and his family were staying at Cala Antena in the south east of the Spanish island

Tragic: The Foreign Office confirmed the deaths of the two Britons

He often joked with friends that Abigail was the ‘girl next-door’.
Family members have flown out to show their support following the tragedy but it is not yet clear when they are returning to the UK.
A police source on the island said: 'It is a terrible tragedy.
'It appears the young boy was swept from the rocks by a large wave, and the dad naturally dived in to try to save him.
'The sea was ferocious with very strong waves crashing onto the rocks, and when it's like that those stairs are extremely dangerous.
'The staircase really should be closed off when the weather is like that.'
'We are providing consular assistance to the family.'
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: 'We are aware of the tragic deaths of two British nationals in Majorca on September 1.
The tragedy comes less than a fortnight after a Brit died as he tried to rescue his young granddaughter who was washed out to sea by a freak wave in Portugal.
Lara Lewis, five, was swept away as she played with shells on a beach near Nazare, 80 miles north of Lisbon.
Brian O'Dwyer, 66, drowned after diving in to try to save her.
Grandmother Jill O'Dwyer also got into difficulties after leaping into the sea to try to help, but she survived.
The grandparents had taken Lara for a walk along the sandy beach leaving parents Philip and Sian Lewis sunbathing around 400 yards away.
Mr and Mrs Lewis, from Hackney, east London, were devastated as they watched as lifeguards spent an hour trying to revive Lara, but she died on the beach.