A father, mother and their teenage daughter who died off the Sussex coast on Tuesday have been identified. Sussex police named the victims as Hassan El-Khawas, 55, his partner, Zeina Alayn, 37, and their 14-year-old daughter, Sara El-Khawas. A younger girl who was also part of the family is in hospital in a critical condition.
The Palestinian embassy in London said El-Khawas was a British man of Palestinian descent. Police, paramedics, coastguard crews and a lifeboat attended the scene at Shoreham-by-Sea, where four people were pulled from the water. Sussex police said the cause of the tragedy was still being investigated.
It could not confirm reports that the older girl got caught in a fishing net. The force said in a statement: “Following review of CCTV footage and initial witness accounts, the current hypothesis is that this was a tragic accident, with no third-party involvement.” Adnan Hmidan, the chair of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, said: “According to the information available to us, the family encountered strong currents while at sea. Their daughter, Sara, became caught in a fishing net and her father attempted to help free her.
We ask everyone to respect their privacy and dignity at this painful time.” Andy Burnham said the incident was “a terrible family tragedy” and a reminder of the dangers of open water swimming. There was a huge emergency service response to the incident on Tuesday afternoon, when police were told four people had got into difficulty in the water. Sussex police said they believed all four entered the water to swim.
Ch Supt James Collis confirmed that a man, woman and a teenage girl had died at the scene. Asked if the government needed to do more on water safety, Burnham said: “Always. It’s so sad to hear what happened yesterday, and obviously we think there’s a young girl still in the hospital fighting for her life, and we send our best wishes and love to wider friends and family.
But a real tragedy, a real terrible family tragedy.” Speaking on a visit to north-east England, Burnham added: “Obviously, we will look in detail at what happened. The thing I can say today, and there is still, I think, a further heatwave to come in this summer period, it is just to remind people about the dangers of open-water swimming. The coldness, even when it feels hot outside, it can shock people, and that can cause the difficulties.
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