A six-year-old girl, Saja El-Khawas, died in hospital on Friday, three days after being pulled from the sea off Shoreham, West Sussex, following a drowning incident that also claimed the lives of her parents and sister [1, 2, 3, 4]. The family, British citizens of Palestinian origin with roots in the Rashidieh refugee camp in southern Lebanon, consisted of father Hassan El-Khawas, 55; mother Zeina Alayn, 37; sister Sara El-Khawas, 14; and Saja [1, 2, 3, 4].
On the afternoon of Tuesday, August 18, the family traveled from their home in London to Shoreham Fort beach. They entered the water at around 2 p.m. but soon got into difficulty [1, 2, 3, 4]. Emergency services including Sussex Police, paramedics, coastguard crews, and lifeboats responded shortly before 3 p.m. The parents and Sara died at the scene, while Saja was rescued and taken to hospital in critical condition [1, 4].
Despite medical efforts, Saja passed away on Friday [1, 2, 3, 4]. Sussex Police Chief Superintendent James Collis called the update "heartbreaking" and offered "thoughts and heartfelt condolences" to the family and community [1]. Tom Rutland, MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, said the community had been "hoping and praying" for Saja's recovery and described her death as heartbreaking [4]. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham called it "a terrible family tragedy" [3].
An ongoing investigation is being conducted, but police stated that the current hypothesis found no indication of third-party involvement, classifying the deaths as a tragic accident [1]. The drownings occurred amid a heatwave in the UK, which has led to an increase in drowning incidents across Europe [3].
The Palestinian Forum in Britain and local communities have held commemorations and vigils to honor the family, with a vigil planned today at Kingston Beach alongside a one-minute silence in Shoreham town centre [3, 4].
