Three friends drowned trying to rescue their two mates who got into trouble in the sea at Camber Sands.

The five young men from south east London were sucked under the water after getting caught in a powerful rip tide.

Following a petition that attracted more than 7,000 signatures, the RNLI has today announced it will be providing lifeguards over the Bank Holiday Weekend.

Speaking to national media, one of the victims' brother described them being dragged under "like quicksand".

But an RNLI source explained quicksand does not feature in the geography of the beach at Camber.

The victims were today formally named by police as 22-year-old Nitharsan Ravi, Kenugen Saththiyanathan, 18, known as Ken Nathan, and his brother Kobikanthan Saththiyanathan, 22, known as Kobi Nathan, Gurushanth Srithavarajah, 27, and 23-year-old Inthushan Sriskantharasa.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "The men all travelled together to Camber for the day on Wednesday where they sadly died.

"Their deaths have now been passed to the coroner."

It is understood the men, who moved to the UK from Sri Lanka with their families, tried swimming back to the shore but were worn out quickly by the strength of the water against them.

Witness statements collected following the tragedy suggested two of them were playing with a ball in the water.

But they were caught in a rip tide as the fast incoming tide caused a rip current which swept them out.

Rip tides are caused when a waves collect on the shore and feed back through a channel between a gap in sandbars.

Sandbars are areas of sand on the seabed which are caused by tidal movements shifting the sands during storms or rough seas.

It is the gap between the sandbars which causes the water to be pulled or ripped through with more force than it would usually flow back at.

The RNLI has been running a safety campaign on rip tides and currents throughout the summer trying to raise awareness of the dangers of the sea.

Their 'Respect The Water' explains how a rip tide moves at 4.5mph which is faster than an Olympic swimmer.

The RNLI and Rother District Council today said five or six lifeguards would be provided for the Bank Holiday weekend.

In a statement the charity said: "In response to recent tragic events at Camber Sands, the RNLI is working with Rother District Council to provide reassurance to the public by providing a temporary RNLI lifeguard service which will work alongside the existing local authority personnel."

They will be stationed on the beach between Saturday and Monday from 9am to 6pm working alongside the regular beach patrol teams.

A face-to-face team will also be on hand to provide safety information for visitors.

Guy Addington, the RNLI's community incident reduction manager, told Sky News: "It's clear we've got a lot more work to around safety messaging and communicate with all parts of our community.

"If you're caught the advice is remain calm, try to stay afloat obviously and don't swim against it" - Guy Addington, RNLI

"It's not just for those that live at the coast in fact the people that live at the coast tend to have a better appreciation.

"It's important we communicate across the whole country.

"A rip current is set up by lots of water coming onto the beach in heavy waves and that's got to find its way back out to sea.

"Water finds the path of least resistance back away from the beach and that might be through a shallow channel between sandbars.

"If you're caught the advice is remain calm, try to stay afloat obviously and don't swim against it and go with the current and then swim parallel to the beach and back in where the current is less strong.

"At lifeguarded beaches they will be looking out for them and if they've identified one could be developing and will put up a red flag - don't go in the water."

The deaths this week came exactly a month after Brazilian tourist Gustavo Silva Da Cruz lost his life along the same stretch of beach.

A petition was launched following his death campaigning MP Amber Rudd to introduce lifeguards on the beach at Camber Sands.

That has now been signed by more than 7,000 people following the tragic events on Wednesday.

A spokesman for Rother District Council said: "Regular assessments are carried out at Camber beach, along with the RNLI, to inform what measures need to be taken to guide visitor safety and ensure the beach is safe.

"To date this has not identified the need for lifeguards to be deployed at the beach and there have never been lifeguards employed at this beach.

"We are in regular discussion with emergency services and other colleagues to ensure that the measures currently in place are sufficient and identify any additional measures that may need to be taken, either in terms of arrangements at the beach or doing more to educate people of the dangers of the sea.

"Although it's too early to draw any conclusions from this latest incident, in recent years we have seen a change in the make-up of visitors to Camber, including more people from outside the area who are not familiar with the sea and the dangers it can pose."

The council added it provides beach patrols throughout the summer advising people of the dangers of the sea, reunite lost children and deal with incidents on the beach including first aid.