A six-year-old girl has died in hospital after she was pulled from the sea in West Sussex alongside three family members who also died, according to a law firm acting for the hospital and the Palestinian Forum in Britain.
Saja El-Khawas died on Friday after the deaths of Sara El-Khawas, 14, and her parents Hassan El-Khawas, 55, and Zeina Alayn, 37, on Tuesday afternoon in Shoreham-by-Sea. Saja had been in hospital in a critical condition since the incident.
Identity confirmed in legal notice
Her identity and death were confirmed in a legal notice from solicitors acting on behalf of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, as well as the Palestinian Forum in Britain.
The Palestinian embassy said Mr El-Khawas was a Palestinian refugee from the Rashidieh Camp in Lebanon. Rashidieh Camp is on the Mediterranean coast in southern Lebanon and is one of the most populous Palestinian refugee camps in the country.
The older part of the camp was built by the French government in 1936 to accommodate Armenian refugees who fled to Lebanon, while the newer part was built by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in 1963 for Palestine refugees, according to the agency.
Investigation into the incident
It is believed the family travelled from their home in London to visit Shoreham and entered the water from the beach near Shoreham Fort at around 2pm before they got into difficulty.
On Wednesday, Sussex Police said their investigation remains open, but after a review of CCTV footage and initial witness accounts, it is currently thought the deaths were a tragic accident, with no third-party involvement.
Chief Superintendent James Collis said: “The events of Tuesday afternoon are a heartbreaking tragedy which has devastated a family and their friends and had a profound impact on the Shoreham community.”
Tributes to Sara
Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls posted a tribute to Year 8 student Sara following the “tragic incident” during the summer holidays on its website on Thursday.
The school, in the London borough of Ealing, said: “Sara was a sweet girl, well-liked by staff and students and she will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with her family, friends, and all those affected. This news will be deeply upsetting for many students, families and staff.”
In a statement on Facebook, the Palestinian embassy said it was “closely monitoring the incident”.
Adnan Hmidan, chairman of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, paid tribute to the family, although his spelling of their name differed from that used by Sussex Police. He said: “The Palestinian, Arab and wider community in Britain, along with the many friends and supporters of our community, have been deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic incident involving the Khawwas family during a day trip off the coast of Sussex.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham warned of the dangers of open water swimming after the incident, which he described as “a terrible family tragedy”.
The family are believed to have entered the water from the south of the 19th century Shoreham Fort, on the west side of the harbour arm. Video footage showed a number of emergency services searching an area of water near to an arm of the harbour where the River Adur meets the sea.
