A young girl has died in hospital after she was pulled from the sea in Shoreham alongside her sister and parents who also died.
Her death was announced this evening (Friday 21 August) three days after the six-year-old was pulled from the water.
Saja El-Khawas, 6, died today. Her sister Sara El-Khawas, 14, and her parents Hassan El-Khawas, 55, and Zeina Alayn, 37, died on Tuesday afternoon in Shoreham.
Saja had been in hospital in a critical condition since the incident.
Her identity and death were confirmed in a legal notice from solicitors acting on behalf of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust as well as the Palestinian Forum in Britain.
The Palestinian embassy said that Mr El-Khawas was a Palestinian refugee from the Rashidieh Camp, in Lebanon.
Rashidieh Camp is on the Mediterranean coast in southern Lebanon and is one of the most populous Palestinian refugee camps in the country.
The older part of the camp was built by the French government in 1936 to accommodate Armenian refugees who fled to Lebanon.
The newer part was built by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in 1963 for Palestine refugees, according to the agency.
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 around 2pm before they got into difficulty.
On Wednesday, Sussex Police said that their investigation remained open but after a review of CCTV footage and initial witness accounts, the deaths appear to be being treated as a tragic accident, with no third-party involvement.
Chief Superintendent James Collis said: “The events of Tuesday afternoon are a heartbreaking tragedy which has devastated a family and their friends and had a profound impact on the Shoreham community.”
Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls posted a tribute to Year 8 student Sara following the “tragic incident” during the summer holidays on its website yesterday.
The school, in the London borough of Ealing, said: “Sara was a sweet girl, well-liked by staff and students and she will be greatly missed.
“Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with her family, friends and all those affected.
“This news will be deeply upsetting for many students, families and staff.”
In a statement on Facebook, the Palestinian embassy said that it was “closely monitoring the incident”.
Adnan Hmidan, chairman of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, paid tribute to the family, although his spelling of their name differed from that used by Sussex Police.
He said: “The Palestinian, Arab and wider community in Britain, along with the many friends and supporters of our community, have been deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic incident involving the Khawwas family during a day trip off the coast of Sussex.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham warned of the dangers of open water swimming after the incident which he described as “a terrible family tragedy”.
The family are believed to have entered the water from just south of the 19th century Shoreham Fort, on the west side of the harbour arm.
Video footage showed a number of emergency services searching an area of water near to the western arm of the harbour where the River Adur meets the sea.
