Police are trying to identify the men whose bodies were found on a popular beach on the hottest day of the year.
The first three men died despite efforts by paramedics to save them after being pulled from the sea at about 2.15pm.
A further two bodies were discovered after the tide receded in the evening at the popular spot, which was teeming with day-trippers earlier in the day.
Rev Canon David Frost from the Parish Church of St Mary which is by the beach told Premier how the community is feeling.
He said: "It's very, very said, we have a lot of visitors there every day of the summer and Camber's a small community and everybody feels it."
He said prayer can help at this time: "We've got to ask for patience for emergency services to do their work, and thanks to all the volunteers and everybody who has worked down there so hard to try and sort out the situation.
"We'd be very grateful for the prayers of everybody, for the visitors and also the locals who're very badly affected by this."
Rev Canon David Frost said that these events cannot stop people enjoying the beach.
He said: "It might make people more wary but that's a good thing, I mean the see looks very benign when sometimes it can in fact be quite dangerous.
"People should be alert but not alarmed - it shouldn't stop people coming down to the beach to enjoy themselves."
Twelve people have died around Britain's coastline in the last week, prompting the RNLI to urge seaside visitors to take care and respect the water.
Revd Ruth Gostelow, from St Thomas the Apostle, a church near the beach, told Premier's News Hour she is praying people read the signs before entering the water.
She said: "Sometimes I think, are people on the beaches reading the notices?
"Because there are warning notices every 100 yards or so about the rip tides and about watch the flags and about watch the current, it's well notified from the point of view of making it public."
She stressed people should be aware: "Maybe that should be one of our many prayers, for holiday makers, don't be completely brain dead to the warnings that are on beaches."
Listen to Premier's Hannah Tooley speak to Rev Canon David Frost here:
Listen to Premier's Hannah Tooley speak to Revd Ruth Gostelow here:
