25/07/2012

Woman Dies After Dorset Coast Cliff Landslide

A young woman has died after a coastal rock face collapsed in Dorset.

22-year-old Charlotte Blackman was buried by an estimated 400 tonnes of mud and rock that fell from the top of the cliff, in two landslides, on to the beach below.

Ms Blackman’s father and boyfriend, and others, had tried to free her but were forced back as the second, heavier, collapsed started.

Gary Rafferty, from Bournemouth, had also tried to help free Ms Blackman.

"They were very unlucky and were in the wrong place at the wrong time. There were lots of people trying to help but there was nothing anyone could do because the pile of rocks and soil was just so huge," he said.

Specialist search teams joined emergency crews and a police helicopter but their efforts were hampered amid fears of further landslides. On Wednesday night police said emergency workers had recovered a body.

(H)

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