Aimee Dexter,in Wisbech St Mary,
Lewis Adamsand
Zoe Applegate
The body of a 16-year-old girl has been found by divers and searches continue for a missing male teenager after a car entered a river.
The body was found after the vehicle left the road on North Brink and entered the River Nene, in Wisbech St Mary, at about 20:20 GMT on Tuesday.
Five young people, aged between 16 and 18, were in the car, but a male and a female among the group failed to get out.
Det Insp Craig Wheeler, from Cambridgeshire Police, said the female’s body was located within the vehicle and described the tragedy as “absolutely horrendous” for “everyone involved”.
He said efforts to find the missing male would continue in a “timely manner”.
“We have a team of family liaison officers with the families,” said Wheeler, speaking from the scene.
“They were here today at the scene… we’re trying to make sure they’re well looked after and we’ll update them as soon as we have some news that might offer them some comfort and answers around what’s happened in this tragic incident.”
The search teams included divers from the Metropolitan Police, but Wheeler said the river’s tidal conditions contributed to making the “recovery mission very, very difficult”.
Two females and one male escaped the vehicle and were taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, police said.
The car was travelling soutbound along North Brink, a narrow road on the outskirts of Wisbech town centre, that runs alongside the River Nene.
A grass bank separates the area between the road and river.
North Brink was expected to remain closed for the rest of Wednesday, the force said.
Police officers urged anyone who had witnessed the incident or had dashcam footage to contact them.
Fire crews from four stations have also been assisting at the scene.
Steve Barclay, the Conservative MP for North East Cambridgeshire, said the incident was “appalling news” to hear.
“The thoughts of the whole community will be with the families of those involved in this heartbreaking tragedy,” he added.