Widow and mother of George and Louis flies home

The two bodies are expected to be repatriated either today or tomorrow.
The tragedy happened just after 11am on Saturday when the family were out for a stroll in the resort of Calas de Mallorca where they were staying at the Hotel Balmorel.

The weather was unsettled, it was raining, and the sea was very rough as they headed down some stone steps cut into the rock to the small bay of Cala Antena.

Abigail and her two sons did not descend all the way down but Louis and his father George did. The steps were wet and slippery because of the rain and it was at the bottom where they stopped to apparently take some pictures with the waves crashing against the rocks behind them.

Suddenly, one of those waves swept over Louis and dragged him away. The bay is known for its strong currents on calm days and little Loius apparently vanished immediately.

His father, despite being unable to swim, jumped in after him but got into difficulty in the water straight away and began calling for help.
But eyewitnesses said that George also disappeared below the waves within a matter of minutes.
When the story broke in the UK first thing on Sunday morning, its was top of the news on many of the rolling TV channels with the Majorca Daily Bulletin covering the story throughout the day for SKY News and the BBC yesterday.

The Mayor of Manacor, Antoni Pastor said; “In an instant, a family has been destroyed. This is terrible.” George, a shop worker, was yesterday described as “truly heroic”.
In a statement released through the Foreign Office (FO), the victim's mother, Christine Selby, said: “My son George Selby died trying to save his son Louis Selby. “George was passionate about his wife Abigail and their three sons. “This tragedy that has befallen this family has devastated the lives of his wife, sons, and mother. “George, Louis and their family were - and still are - loved by all that knew them. “Please allow us to grieve for our devastating loss of a truly heroic husband, father, son, brother. And Louis our little bear.” Lifeguards tried to save the pair, but the rest of the family looked on as their efforts proved fruitless.
A red flag warning beachgoers not to swim is believed to have been flying at the time but from where George and Louis were, they may not have seen it.
George Selby's best friend, Graham Klerk, 31, was quoted as saying: “George could not swim but I honestly can't imagine him standing by the side and watching his son drown.”