🚨 FIRST PICTURES EMERGE AFTER SHOREHAM BEACH TRAG3DY — MUM, DAD AND DAUGHTER PULLED FROM THE WATER… AND THE FAMILY’S STORY IS NOW DRAWING HEARTBREAKING ATTENTION
A family who died after getting into trouble in the water off Shoreham-by-Sea were a father, mother and their 14-year-old daughter who were all Palestinian refugees.
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Shoreham Drowning victims (L-R) Zeina Alyan, Sara Hussam Khawas, Hosam El-Khawas
A mother, father and their teenage daughter who died after getting into trouble off the coast of Sussex have been named and pictured for the first time.
The Palestinian Embassy in London have confirmed that the father who died off Shoreham-by-Sea was Hossam Al-Khawas, a refugee from the Rashidieh Camp in Lebanon.
His wife, Zeina Alayn, and one of their daughters, 14-year-old Sara El-Khawas, are also believed to have died during Tuesday’s tragic incident.
A second daughter, understood to be six, is currently in a critical condition after being pulled from the water by a rescue team. “The whole family is in a rough situation mentally – very very bad,” an embassy spokesman told the Mirror.
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Sara, 14, was pulled from the water off Shoreham-by-Sea
In a tribute to the family today, the Palestinian Forum in Britain mourned the family’s passing.
“With hearts believing in God’s decree, the Palestinian Forum in Britain mourns Mr Hossam El-Khawas, his virtuous wife, and their daughter – from the Rashidieh refugee camp in Lebanon – following their drowning in the Sussex area,” it said. “We pray for the recovery of their second daughter, who was transferred to the hospital.”
The forum added: “We also request help in reaching out to the family (for those who know them) so we can fulfil our collective duty together. May God bestow His vast mercy upon them, welcome them into His spacious gardens, and grant their loved ones patience and solace. Indeed, to God we belong and to Him we shall return.”
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Hossam El-Khawas and his family were Palestinian refugees
Adnan Hmidan, chairman of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, said that the situation unfolded after the father rushed in to help one of his daughters. He said: “As the waves and currents intensified, her mother, Zeina Alyan, also entered the water to try to save them. Sadly, the conditions proved overwhelming.”
Hmidan said that the family’s two other children were on the shore at the time and are now being cared for by family He added: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire family, particularly the children, who are facing an unimaginable loss.”
The family’s roots link back to the Rashidieh camp in southern Lebanon, which was originally built by the French government in 1936 to house Armenian refugees. The Palestinian embassy in the UK said that the family were understood to have had British citizenship.
Palestinian refugees began arriving to a new section of the camp from the 1960s, travelling from Palestine and other areas of Lebanon, before an influx from Syria in recent years.
A spokesman for the Palestinian embassy said: “What’s important, the most, especially, [is] that I think this is considered a national tragedy, losing three British Palestinians at such a time.”
People living in the area say Shoreham Harbour has a steep shelf, where the seabed drops away quickly. It can make it difficult for swimmers to keep their balance, they say.
Police have said that relatives of the family have been notified, and that specialist officers are providing them with support following the tragedy.
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Zeina Alayn tragically died off the coast of Essex
Earlier today, Prime Minister Andy Burnham sent his sympathies to the family of the dead. Asked if the Government needed to do more to tackle water safety, the Prime Minister 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.
“Always, there’s more that can be done. Obviously, we will look in detail at what happened.
“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 in when it feels hot outside, it can shock people, and that can cause the 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. As I say, just huge sympathy to the friends and the family.”
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A massive rescue operation saw boats and helicopters try to save the family
East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tom Rutland said everybody in the area was “shocked and saddened” by the incident and stressed that people need to understand the dangers of open water swimming.
Speaking near the scene on Wednesday, he said: “It’s too early to know exactly what caused yesterday’s trouble that led to the tragic deaths but I think there’s always more that can be done to educate people about water safety.
“I think people living by the sea broadly have a good understanding of the dangers it can pose, but we need to make sure that everybody in the country has that same knowledge, given that people love to come to the coast in the hot summers that we’ve been having.”
In a statement on Facebook, the Palestinian embassy said it was “closely monitoring the incident”.
“As the embassy extends its deepest condolences and sympathy to the victims’ family, their loved ones, and members of the Palestinian community in the United Kingdom in this painful affliction, it wishes the injured girl a speedy recovery,” the post said.
SOURCE: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/shoreham-drowning-victims-named-pictured-37569651
