British police announced the names of three members of a British family of Palestinian origins who drowned, while a young girl was rescued and taken to the hospital. The British Prime Minister mourned the victims and warned against “cold water shock.”
When the body comes into contact with cold water, “cold shock” may cause severe changes in breathing, heart rate and blood pressure.
Sussex Police said Hassan Al-Khawas, 55, his wife Zeina Alyan, 37, and their daughter Sarah Al-Khawas, 14, are believed to have drowned after getting into trouble at sea on the shore of Shoreham Fort, south of London, on Tuesday.
Another young girl from the family, six years old, was rescued and taken to hospital in critical condition.
The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon, and emergency services were called after reports of four people in distress in the water near Shoreham.
Coast Guard teams, Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats, air ambulances, police officers and ambulance teams participated in responding to the incident.
Police said the family traveled from their home in London to visit Shoreham Beach, and after reviewing surveillance camera footage, investigators said they believed the death was due to a tragic drowning accident, without any third-party intervention.
"cold water shock"
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham mourned the Palestinian family that lost three of its members, describing the incident as a "terrible family tragedy."
On Wednesday, Burnham warned of the dangers of swimming in open water, and said: “The thing I can say today, and I think there is still another heat wave coming this summer period, is just a reminder to people of the dangers of swimming in open water.”
He added, "The cold of the water, even on hot days, may cause shock to people...so people should always remember that."
Burnham praised the emergency services, saying: "I know they were on the scene very quickly yesterday. It's been a busy summer for them, but they were there, and we thank them."
The Palestinian family immigrated years ago from the Rashidieh camp in southern Lebanon to Britain, where they settled and lived. The Palestinian embassy in London told the BBC that Hassan al-Khawas was a refugee.
The embassy indicated that it is closely following the incident and is contacting the British authorities to find out its circumstances and check on the girl’s condition in the hospital.
The embassy issued a statement on Wednesday, expressing its condolences to the girl’s family and the Palestinian community in the United Kingdom, and said that it was “following with great concern and sorrow the news related to the tragic incident.”
Trauma in the local community
Chief Inspector James Collis, of Sussex Police, described the incident as a "heartbreaking tragedy that has devastated a family and their friends and had a profound impact on the Shoreham community".
But British reports spoke of other reasons for the accident, and eyewitnesses claimed that one of the two daughters from the family was caught in a fishing net, while other reports stated that the father tried to save her before he died, according to what was reported by the British newspaper “Mirror”.
The family is believed to have been camping near the site of the accident, and residents of the area say Shoreham Harbor is characterized by a steep escarpment, with the seabed falling rapidly.
