Moment man dices with death close to huge freezing waves in Whitby harbour - just 24 hours after Withernsea tragedy
A shocking photo shows a person donning a hooded green parker coat while perilously edging closer along the lifeboat and yacht ramp to the foaming water below.
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By FREYA BARNES, NEWS REPORTER
Published: 12:24 GMT, 4 January 2026 | Updated: 12:31 GMT, 4 January 2026
A picture shows the moment a man diced with death close to huge freezing waves in Whitby harbour - just 24 hours after a tragedy at Withernsea saw two people die, with a third still missing in the water.
A shocking photo shows a person donning a hooded green parker coat while perilously edging closer along the lifeboat and yacht ramp to the foaming water below.
The image shows 15ft waves crashing into the harbour wall in the distance while the person inches closer to the water, treading carefully down a slippery ramp.
Images were taken from screen grabs of live CCTV footage from Whitby Yacht Club.
Despite some residents claiming the footage is AI, the poster quickly corrected them right with a link to the stream showing the footage is real.
One comment read: 'Two have died and one missing in Withernsea - and people still do this?'
A third said: 'And someone will be expected to save them from their own stupidity.'
Another said: 'Madness. I've been watching them on the live stream.. Pretty dangerous where they are.'
A fourth wrote: 'Have they learnt nothing from what happened in Withernsea and how it affects the rescue services. Stupid, dangerous and selfish. Respect the sea.'
It comes after emergency services were called to Withernsea - around 70 miles south of Whitby - on Friday afternoon following a 'number of people in difficulty in the water'.
A shocking photo shows a person donning a hooded green parker coat while perilously edging closer along the lifeboat and yacht ramp to the foaming water below
Emergency services were called to Withernsea following a 'number of people in difficulty in the water' on Friday afternoon
HM Coastguard said searches were stood down at around 12.30am Saturday and resumed at 6.30am
Two bodies have been pulled out of the freezing water by search and rescue teams with one person still unaccounted for.
Searches were launched at 3.12pm on Friday, January 2, after a girl was swept away by a wave into the freezing cold water.
The body of a 67-year-old man was located before a second body was tragically discovered.
Extensive searches took place throughout Saturday and stood down on Saturday evening, with the search for the third body resuming on Sunday morning.
Searches for a third person resumed this morning after two bodies were pulled from the sea off the East Yorkshire coast.