The five men who died at Camber Sands in Sussex on Wednesday were in their late teens and early 20s and from the Greater London area, police believe.
Sussex police said they understood the men had been spending the day at the beach, near Rye in east Sussex.
“We believe we now know who the men are and that they came to the beach together for the day,” said Chief Supt Di Roskilly.
“We believe they are all in their late teens and early 20s and come from the Greater London area. These men were not fully clothed when they were pulled from the sea but wearing clothes appropriate for being at the beach.”
Four of the men have been named as Nitharsan Ravi, Inthushan Sri and Kobi and Ken Nathan. Mr Ravi (22) had studied at the University of Brighton, according to his Facebook page.
It was believed a sixth person was missing but there was no search operation at the beach yesterday.
– (Guardian service)