Three teenagers die after car enters River Wear

Three teenagers died after a black Audi A3 entered the River Wear in Sunderland on Tuesday afternoon, and a 17-year-old who escaped from the car was arrested in connection with the incident, Northumbria Police said. The circumstances leading to the car entering the water have not been established, and police described the investigation as being at a very early stage. Police said four people were in the car when it entered the river near Panns Bank and Wearmouth Bridge at about 1.30pm. The bodies of two teenage boys and a teenage girl were recovered from the water after a search. The 17-year-old boy reached safety and was taken to hospital with injuries described as non-serious. Police said he had been arrested in connection with the incident. Emergency services conducted a multi-agency search and rescue operation involving police, ambulance crews, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the Coastguard and Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service. The fire service sent two fire engines and a fire boat to assist. The search focused on the area around Panns Bank, on the river’s southern bank.