Children who died in Bournemouth had not jumped from the pier and no jet skis were involved in their deaths, police have said.
Dorset Police Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Farrell said police were conducting a “complex investigation” into how a group of ten people, including the children, got into trouble in the water in Bournemouth on Wednesday.
“It is clear, that a number of people already in the water got into difficulty and we are investigating the circumstances that caused that to happen,” Ms Farrell told a press conference on Thursday.
Dorset Police received a report from paramedics needing assistance at the beach off Bournemoth Pier at about 4.30pm after reports of a group of ten people getting into trouble in the water.
A 17-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl sustained critical injuries and later died in hospital.
Police today confirmed that the two children were not related and were from different parts of the country. The 17-year-old boy was from Southampton and the 12-year-old girl was from Buckinghamshire.
A man in his 40s who was “on the water” at the time has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
Earlier police had also ruled out “physical contact” with a vessel had caused their deaths.
Eight others were treated for non-life threatening injuries.
This story is being updated.
