Hussam El-Khawas, 55, his wife Zeina Alayan, 37, and their daughters Sara, 14, and Saja, six, were pulled from the water on August 18 in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, with all four later confirmed dead
A six-year-old girl rescued from the sea at Shoreham was revived but tragically passed away in hospital after showing signs of a brain injury throughout her treatment, an inquest has heard.
Palestinian refugee Hussam El-Khawas, 55, his wife Zeina Alayan, 37, and their daughter Sara El-Khawas, 14, were confirmed dead after being retrieved from the water on August 18 in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex.
Their younger daughter Saja El-Khawas, six, was rushed to hospital in a critical condition and sadly died on August 21. An inquest opened into the deaths of the four family members at Horsham heard that the father, mother and older sister were brought to the shore by the RNLI at Kingston Beach but were declared deceased at the RNLI lifeboat station.
The hearing was informed that the RNLI had responded to reports of “members of the public getting into trouble in the sea”.
The younger daughter, Saja, was initially taken to the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton before being transferred to the Evelina Children’s Hospital at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.
Coroner’s officer Kelly Truss told the hearing: “All clinical signs throughout her admission showed evidence of a hypoxic brain injury.”
Ms Truss said that she was pronounced dead on August 21 and a provisional cause of death given by Dr Hawa Sesay was 1a hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy and 1b drowning. Ms Truss said that a cause of death had not yet been ascertained for the other three family members.
She further noted that Mr El-Khawas’s brother, Adnan Al-Kwass, had been identified as the next-of-kin and had been informed of the inquest proceedings but had not attended the brief hearing.
Coroner Penelope Schofield postponed the inquests until March 16 next year, stating: “In respect of all four family members, there is an ongoing police investigation. Once that is completed, the inquests will be brought forward.”
She expressed: “I offer my sincerest condolences to the wider family for the loss of these four family members in these circumstances.”
The inquest was told that Ms Alayan, described as a “homemaker”, was born in March 1989 in Al Rachidieh and she was Lebanese, while her husband, an “employed construction worker”, was born in January 1971 in Rachidie and was also Lebanese. Both are understood to hold British passports.
Sara was born in October 2012 in Kensington, while Saja was born in December 2019, also in Kensington, and the family resided in Craven Park, north-west London.
It’s believed the family journeyed from their home in London to visit Shoreham and entered the water from the beach near Shoreham Fort at about 2pm before they encountered trouble.
Police, paramedics, coastguard teams and a lifeboat were present at the scene where the four individuals were retrieved from the water.
Sussex Police have stated that their investigation is ongoing, but after reviewing CCTV footage and initial witness statements, it’s currently believed the deaths were accidental, with no third-party involvement.
Mr El-Khawas was a Palestinian refugee from the Rashidieh Camp in Lebanon, according to the Palestinian embassy Rashidieh Camp, located on the Mediterranean coast in southern Lebanon, is one of the most densely populated Palestinian refugee camps in the country.
The Palestinian Forum in Britain, which supports the Palestinian community in the UK, set up a GoFundMe page. Last week, it surpassed its £20,000 target to cover funeral and repatriation costs to Lebanon and to assist the family.
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