A six-year-old girl rescued from the sea was resuscitated but died in hospital after showing signs of brain damage during treatment, an inquest heard today.
Palestinian refugee Hussam El-Khawas, 55, his wife Zeina Alayan, 37, and their daughter Sara El-Khawas, 14, were declared dead after being pulled from the water in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, on August 18. Saja was still alive when she was pulled from the sea by a lifeboat crew, but despite being resuscitated on the beach and taken to the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brightonshe died three days later.
Senior Coroner for Brighton and West Sussex Penelope Schofield today offered her condolences to their wider family at a short hearing ahead of a longer hearing at a date to be determined.
The Northwest Family London were visiting Shoreham, near Brighton, for the day when they all went into the sea to bathe.
A large-scale search and rescue operation was launched after reports of people in difficulty at sea, involving police, paramedics, coastguard personnel and a rescue boat.
Coroner Kelly Truss told the hearing: ‘All clinical symptoms during her admission showed signs of hypoxic brain injury.’
Saja was transferred to Evelina Children’s Hospital, where she lost her fight for life three days after the deaths of her mother, father and older sister.
(L-R) Mother Zeina Alayan, 37, eldest daughter Sara, 13, and father Hussam Abdallah El-Khawas, 55, all died in the water at Shoreham
The Shoreham community honored the family with a vigil, a minute’s silence in the town center and a paddleboard/kayak memorial on the water
At a preliminary inquest, the cause of death of the parents and Sara remained unclear, while Saja’s death was formally attributed to brain damage due to drowning. Pictured are floral tributes and a lantern left at the scene after the tragedy
Her cause of death was given by Dr. Hawa Sesay as brain injury caused by drowning.
Post-mortem examinations were carried out on mother, father and eldest daughter in Brighton by Dr Mark Taylor.
The inquest has revealed that their cause of death remains unclear.
The family had been on a day trip to Shoreham on Tuesday, August 18.
They went into the sea at Kingston Beach near Shoreham Fort.
The parents and Sara were taken to shore by the RNLI and pronounced dead at the RNLI lifeboat station.
The inquest heard that the children were born at the Kensington and Chelsea Hospital in London.
Their parents were born in Rashidieh Camp, a Palestinian refugee camp on the Mediterranean coast in southern Lebanon and one of the most populous Palestinian refugee camps in the country.
They both had British passports and declared their nationality as Lebanese.
Mother Zeina Alayan was described as a housewife.
Police currently believe the deaths were a tragic accident with no third party involved
Two air ambulances were seen landing on the coast
The family lived in a two-bedroom, first-floor council flat in north-west London (pictured)
Father Hussam Abdallah El-Khawas was described as an employed construction worker.
His brother, Adnan Al-Kwass, was named as a person of interest in the judicial investigation.
He was identified as the next of kin and had been informed of the inquest.
Sara was born in October 2012 in Kensington, while Saja was born in December 2019, also in Kensington, and the family lived in Craven Park, north-west London.
No family members attended the hearing in person or online.
Adnan Hmidan, chairman of the Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB), said the family was sent back to Lebanon, where they were buried in a ceremony at the Rashidieh refugee camp, where mum and dad were born.
A PFB spokesperson previously said the British-Palestinian family was from the camp.
More than £23,000 was raised to move the bodies to Lebanon when family were prevented from visiting the UK for a funeral, the PFB said.
Emergency services were called to Shoreham Fort at around 1440 to a report of four people in difficulty.
The family had traveled from their home in London to visit Shoreham for a day.
A spokesperson for Sussex Police said: ‘The investigation into the incident remains open, but following review of CCTV footage and initial witness statements, the current hypothesis is that this was a tragic accident, with no third party involvement.’
The community left flowers and other tributes to the family on the coast
Tom Rutland MP said: ‘The whole community here is heartbroken by Saja’s death.’
Coroner Penelope Schofield said: ‘I extend my sincere condolences to all the family for the tragic circumstances surrounding their deaths.’
The full investigation is expected in March next year.
