Father who died after entering water off Sussex was Palestinian refugee

A father who died alongside his wife and teenage daughter after entering the sea off the Sussex coast was a Palestinian refugee called Hossam Al-Khawas.

Mr Al-Khawas, named by the Palestinian embassy on Wednesday, 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.

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, where she remains.

The father was from the Rashidieh Camp in Lebanon but the embassy said it was unable to confirm the names of the other family members.

Rashidieh Camp is on the Mediterranean coast in southern Lebanon and is one of the most populous Palestinian refugee camps in the country.

Earlier on Wednesday, Andy Burnham warned of the dangers of open water swimming after the incident, which he described as “a terrible family tragedy”.

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.

There was a huge emergency service response to the incident (Jamie Lashmar/PA)

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“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.”

The family are believed to have entered the water near to the 19th century Shoreham Fort on the harbour.

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.

Police have not announced the identity of the victims but said their next of kin were being supported by specialist officers. The Palestinian embassy said it was also in touch with the wider family.

In a statement on Facebook, the embassy said it was “closely monitoring the incident”.

Andy Burnham described the incident as a ‘terrible family tragedy’ (Scott Heppell/PA)

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“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.

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.”

Nearby residents told of their shock at the tragedy and their concerns for the girl fighting for her life.

Joss Loader, who lives nearby and represents Shoreham Beach Residents’ Association on Adur District Council, said: “There’s just a really strong sense of shock, obviously people are really concerned for the young girl.

“It’s school holidays and we have had a wonderful summer so the beaches have been packed with families.

“The weather was quite calm, not as hot as recent days but it was a perfectly normal day.

“People swim from those beaches even in the winter, generally it is considered as safe as the sea can be. You wouldn’t be swimming there and think you were taking a risk.”

But others warned that swimming at Shoreham can be dangerous.

“People come down to swim, particularly in the summertime and I don’t think they realise there’s a riptide along here,” said. Anna Peacock, 81, who lives near Kingston Beach across the water from Shoreham Fort.

“It’s very inviting to come to the sea, but the tide could carry you out in seconds, and I don’t think people have realised that.”

Robina Baine, also an Adur councillor who represents the Southwick Green ward where the RNLI lifeboat station is, said: “These events are absolutely tragic and our thoughts are with the family and friends that have lost their loved ones.

“I have been here for 46 years and this is the most tragic incident there has been.”