- George Selby dived into sea when son Louis was swept away by huge wave
- But 27-year-old also got into difficulty because he had never learned to swim
- Lifeguard Emiliano Dominguez dashed to help after hearing their screams
- Grabbed tourist's rubber dinghy and pulled the stricken pair from the water
- Neither he nor paramedics were able to revive them after paddling to shore
- 'The little boy had turned blue. We did the kiss of life on them, but there was nothing more we could do'
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A lifeguard today told how he used a tourist's rubber dinghy in a desperate bid to rescue a British father and son who drowned off the coast of Majorca.
Holidaymaker George Selby, 27, died after diving into the sea to try to save seven-year-old Louis, who had been swept off rocks by a huge wave.
Lifeguard Emiliano Dominguez, 27, was on duty at the swimming pool of a nearby hotel when he heard screams for help.
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Tragedy: George Selby pictured on his wedding day last year with his wife Abigail and their three children Dylan, left, Louis, front row and Mitchell, right. George and Louis both drowned in the sea on holiday in Majorca
He said: 'I ran down to the rocks and saw the boy and the man both floating face down about 20 metres out.
'I dived in and tried to swim to them but the current and the waves were so powerful it was impossible. I'm a strong swimmer but I could easily have drowned, it was that bad.
'I climbed back onto the rocks and grabbed a rubber dinghy from a tourist and dived back in with it.
'Another lifeguard from the hotel and I then managed to reach the boy and his dad and drag them into the dinghy. It was obvious they had been in the sea for several minutes by then.
Louis Selby was swept off this rock platform in Cala Antena while his father George was taking his photo. The 28-year-old died trying to save his seven-year-old son who also drowned
Did everything he could: A lifeguard has told how he tried in vain to save George and Louis off the Majorcan coast, but was not able to resuscitate them after bringing them back to shore in a dinghy
'We paddled as fast as we could to the nearest beach and got them onto the shore. But their hearts had stopped beating and they weren't breathing.
'The little boy had turned blue. We did the kiss of life on them and used defibrillators to try to revive them for about ten minutes until an ambulance arrived and paramedics took over.
'There was nothing more we could do.'
Emiliano, who works at the Chihuahuas Hotel, only became a lifeguard three weeks ago.
He said: 'I'm very upset for the dead man's wife and family. I can't imagine how they feel. The dad was very brave to dive in. The waves were huge.'
The family, from Hornchuch, Essex, who were on their first foreign holiday, were staying in Cala Antena on the south-east coast of Majorca.
The tragedy happened at 11am on Saturday at the bottom of a stairway leading down from a cliff-top path to the sea, a popular spot for people to take photographs.
A red flag was raised at the time of the incident, warning visitors not to swim in the sea, pictured
Mr Selby, an assistant manager at a store in Romford, had reportedly been taking pictures of Louis just before disaster struck.
The youngster was carried out to sea by a large wave. Mr Selby, who could not swim, dived in but shortly afterwards was seen screaming for help and waving his hands in the air.
Although there was a red flag flying on the nearby beach, there are no danger signs on the stairs where the tragedy happened.
Town hall chiefs in Manacor, the nearest town, said they were considering putting up a warning sign.
A spokesman for the town hall said: 'Our thoughts are with the family.
'We've never had anything like that happen before. We will be reviewing safety at the steps where it happened.'
Resort: George Selby and his family were staying at Cala Antena in the south east of the Spanish island
Louis's mother, Abigail Selby was on the holiday with her husband, Louis and two other sons. The couple met eight years ago and married last year.
Relatives flew out to comfort them yesterday and they were due to fly home today.
Mr Selby's mother Christine paid tribute to her 'truly heroic' son and young Louis, who described as 'our little bear' in a statement released by the family.
Post-mortem examinations have been carried out in the island's capital Palma.
The tragedy came less than a fortnight after a Brit died as he tried to rescue his young granddaughter who was washed out to sea by a freak wave in Portugal.
Lara Lewis, five, from Hackney, east London, was swept away as she played with shells on a beach near Nazare, 80 miles north of Lisbon.
Brian O'Dwyer, 66, drowned after diving in to try to save her.
Video: Spanish TV shows beach in Majorca where father and son died
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