Inquest opens into death of family in Shoreham incident

An inquest has opened into the death of four family members who died after getting into difficulty in the sea off the coast of Shoreham.

Hussam El-Khawas, 55, Zeina Alayan, 37, and their daughter Sara El-Khawas, 13, were pronounced dead after being brought to shore by lifeboat crews on 18 August. The couple's younger daughter, Saja El-Khawas, died at the Evelina Children's Hospital in London three days later.

Senior coroner Penelope Scholfield opened and adjourned the inquest to March 2027 and offered her "sincere condolences" to the wider family.

Six-year-old Saja was resuscitated but showed signs of a brain injury throughout treatment. No provisional cause of death was given for the other family members.

The family lived in north west London, where El-Khawas worked as a construction worker, while Alayan was a homemaker, the inquest in Horsham was told.

Both parents were Lebanese nationals with British passports, while the children were born in Kensington.

El-Khawas was a Palestinian refugee from the Rashidieh Camp in Lebanon, the Palestinian embassy previously said.

It is believed that the family travelled from their home in London to visit Shoreham and entered the water from the beach near Shoreham Fort at about 14:00 BST before getting into difficulty.

Their bodies were repatriated to Lebanon, where a funeral was held for them , according to the Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB).

Mohammed Fadi, of the PFB, said that £23,000 had been raised to transfer the bodies as family members had not been able to fly to the UK because of visa restrictions.

He added: "The main reason for raising the funds was to transfer the bodies to Lebanon and allow the family to see them for the last time and to support the family as well."

A Sussex Police investigation remains ongoing, but police are satisfied that there was no third-party involvement, the inquest was told.

The inquest will resume following the conclusion of the police investigation, the corner said.

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West Sussex, Brighton and Hove Coroner Service