Father who died after entering water off Sussex was Palestinian refugee
Mr Al-Khawas is thought to have gone into the water to swim with three other family members near Shoreham Fort in Shoreham-by-Sea
Last updated 5 hours ago
A father who died alongside a woman and a teenage girl after entering the sea off the Sussex coast was a Palestinian refugee called Hossam Al-Khawas, the Palestinian embassy has said.
All four people have been formally identified and police have confirmed they were all members of the same family.
Hassan El-Khawas, 55, his partner, Zeina Alayn, 37 and their 14-year-old daughter, Sara El-Khawas were all confirmed deceased at the scene after being pulled from the water.
Mr Al-Khawas is thought to have gone into the water to swim with three other family members near Shoreham Fort in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, on Tuesday afternoon.
It is understood the family travelled down from their home in London to visit Shoreham, and entered the water from the beach at Shoreham Fort around 2pm.
Police, paramedics, coastguard crews and a lifeboat attended the scene where four people were pulled from the water.
Mr Al-Khawas, a woman and teenage girl were pronounced dead and a young girl was taken to hospital in a critical condition.
The father was from the Rashidieh Camp in Lebanon.
The embassy said it was unable to confirm the names of the other family members.
The Prime Minister warned of the dangers of open water swimming after the incident, which he described as “a terrible family tragedy”.
Andy Burnham said the Government can “always” do more on water safety after the incident
Sussex Police confirmed on Tuesday night that a man, a woman and a teenage girl had died, while a younger girl was in a critical condition in hospital.
There was a huge emergency service response, with air ambulances, an RNLI lifeboat and coastguard crews among the many at the scene near Shoreham Fort.
Asked during a visit to the North East on Wednesday if the Government needed to do more on water safety after the incident, the Prime Minister said: “Always.”
He urged people to be wary of cold-water shock ahead of “a further heatwave to come in this summer period”.
Mr Burnham said: “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. So people just need to remember that at all times.
“I do need to praise the emergency services who I know were on scene very quickly yesterday. They’ve had a busy summer but they were there and we thank them.”
He said the incident was “a real terrible family tragedy” and sent “best wishes and love to wider friends and family