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A British man and his seven-year-old son have drowned off the coast of Majorca.
The father drowned as he tried in vain to rescue his son who was swept out to sea by a huge wave at a small deserted cove called Cala Antena on the south-east of the Spanish island.
The tragedy was witnessed by the boy's horrified mother and two sisters from the shore.
The dead man was named in a local newspaper as George Selvi, 28, and his son as Louis Selvi.
The mother ran screaming for help, and lifeguards from a nearby hotel raced to the scene and tried to rescue the two holidaymakers but could do nothing to save them.
Witnesses said they saw Mr Selvi shouting for help from the sea, waving his arms in the air.
According to one local report, he had been taking photographs of his son by the rocks shortly before the tragedy, which happened at around 11am on Saturday.
It was raining lightly and a red flag was flying on the beach warning bathers not to enter the sea.
Police and an ambulance arrived in Cala Antena, but it was too late to save the two Brits.
A police source on the island said: "It is a terrible tragedy. It appears the young boy was swept from the rocks by a large wave, and the dad naturally dived in to try to save him.
"The sea was ferocious with very strong waves crashing onto the rocks, and when it's like that those stairs are extremely dangerous.
"The staircase really should be closed off when the weather is like that."
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are aware of the tragic deaths of two British nationals in Majorca on September 1.
"We are providing consular assistance to the family".
She said she could not confirm the names published in the local newspaper.
The tragedy comes less than a fortnight after a Briton died as he tried to rescue his young granddaughter who was washed out to sea by a freak wave in Portugal.
Lara Lewis, five, 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. Grandmother Jill O'Dwyer also got into difficulties after leaping into the sea to try to help, but she survived.
They had taken Lara for a walk along the sandy beach leaving parents Philip and Sian Lewis sunbathing around 400 yards away.
Mr and Mrs Lewis, from Hackney, east London, were devastated as they watched as lifeguards spent an hour trying to revive Lara, but she died on the beach.
