On a summer afternoon in West Sussex, a family of four from London entered the sea at Kingston Beach near Shoreham and did not return. Over the days that followed, all four members of the El-Khawas family — a father, a mother, a teenage daughter, and six-year-old Saja — died, the youngest succumbing in hospital after clinging to life for several days. Police have found no wrongdoing, only the ancient and indifferent power of the sea meeting a family on an ordinary outing. What remains is grief, an open inquest, and the particular silence left behind when an entire family is gone.
Six-year-old girl dies after Shoreham sea tragedy claims entire family
Four family members died: father Hassan El-Khawas (55), mother Zeina Alayn (37), sister Sara (14), and six-year-old Saja El-Khawas, who died in hospital days after the drowning incident.
A family had entered the water and encountered circumstances that proved fatal.
Mark
What made this particular incident so devastating to the community?
Mimi
It wasn't just the scale of loss—four people from one family—but the randomness of it. This wasn't a reckless decision or negligence. It was a family doing what millions of families do every summer. That's what shook people.
Mark
Do we know what actually went wrong in the water?
Mimi
Not precisely. Police reviewed footage and witness accounts and concluded it was an accident with no third-party involvement. But the specific mechanics—whether it was a current, whether someone panicked, whether there was a medical event—those details will likely emerge during the inquest.
Mark
The family was Palestinian, with roots in a refugee camp. Does that context matter to how the story was received?
Mimi
The Palestinian Forum noted their extended family had lived in the UK for many years. They were British citizens. But yes, the fact that they were a diaspora family, that they had that particular history, adds another layer to the loss. They had built a life here.
Mark
How quickly did emergency services respond?
Mimi
The call came in at 14:40. The response was immediate and substantial—Coastguard, RNLI, ambulance service, police all there. But the water had already claimed three of them by the time help arrived. Saja survived the initial incident but died in hospital days later.
Mark
What happens now?
Mimi
A coroner's inquest will determine the official cause of death for all four. The investigation remains open. But for the community, the work of grieving has already begun.
El Pulso
- A routine seaside trip turned catastrophic within an hour of the family entering the water, triggering a major emergency response from coastguard, lifeboat, ambulance, and police services.
- Three members of the El-Khawas family — father Hassan, 55, mother Zeina, 37, and daughter Sara, 14 — could not be saved at the scene despite the efforts of paramedics.
- Six-year-old Saja was pulled from the water alive and rushed to hospital, where her survival became the fragile centre of the community's hope for several agonising days.
- Her death confirmed the complete loss of the family, sending fresh waves of grief through Shoreham and prompting public statements of sorrow from local officials and the Prime Minister.
- Police have concluded the incident was a tragic accident with no third-party involvement, and a coroner's inquest will now work to establish the official cause of death for all four family members.
On a summer afternoon in West Sussex, a family of four from London entered the sea at Kingston Beach near Shoreham and did not return. Over the days that followed, all four members of the El-Khawas family — a father, a mother, a teenage daughter, and six-year-old Saja — died, the youngest succumbing in hospital after clinging to life for several days. Police have found no wrongdoing, only the ancient and indifferent power of the sea meeting a family on an ordinary outing. What remains is grief, an open inquest, and the particular silence left behind when an entire family is gone.
On a Tuesday afternoon in August, the El-Khawas family drove from their London home to Kingston Beach near Shoreham in West Sussex — the kind of summer outing thousands of families make without a second thought. Around two o'clock they entered the sea near Shoreham Fort. Within an hour, emergency services received a call reporting four people in difficulty in the water. HM Coastguard, the RNLI, the South East Coast Ambulance Service, and Sussex Police all converged on the beach.
Despite the scale of the response, three family members could not be saved. Hassan El-Khawas, 55, Zeina Alayn, 37, and their fourteen-year-old daughter Sara all died at the scene. Six-year-old Saja was pulled from the water and rushed to hospital, where she survived for several days before she too died — the fourth and final member of her family to be lost.
The El-Khawases were British citizens of Palestinian heritage, with family roots in the Rashidieh refugee camp in Lebanon. Police reviewed CCTV footage and witness accounts and concluded the incident was a tragic accident, with no third-party involvement. A file will be prepared for the coroner ahead of a formal inquest.
The news of Saja's death deepened a grief that had already settled over Shoreham. Chief Superintendent James Collis called it heartbreaking — an update, he said, that everyone had feared. Floral tributes appeared at the beach. Local councillors and the Prime Minister offered words of sorrow. A family had gone to the sea together, and none of them came home.
On a Tuesday afternoon in August, a family from London waded into the sea at Kingston Beach near Shoreham in West Sussex. By evening, three of them were dead. Days later, in a hospital bed, the youngest—a six-year-old girl named Saja El-Khawas—died as well, making her the fourth and final casualty of what police would later describe as a tragic accident.
The El-Khawas family had driven down from their home in London that day to visit the coast. Around two o'clock in the afternoon, they entered the water from the beach at Shoreham Fort. Within an hour, something went wrong. Emergency services received a call at 14:40 reporting four people in difficulty in the sea. The response was immediate and substantial: HM Coastguard, the RNLI, South East Coast Ambulance Service, and Sussex Police all converged on Kingston Beach.
Three family members did not survive the incident. Saja's father, Hassan El-Khawas, was 55 years old. Her mother, Zeina Alayn, was 37. Her older sister Sara was 14. Despite the efforts of paramedics working at the scene, none of them could be saved. Saja was pulled from the water and rushed to hospital, where she clung to life for several days before succumbing to her injuries.
The family were British citizens of Palestinian heritage, with roots in the Rashidieh refugee camp in Lebanon. Their extended family had lived in the United Kingdom for many years, according to the Palestinian Forum. They were, by all accounts, an ordinary family taking an ordinary seaside trip—the kind of outing thousands of families make each summer without incident.
Police investigated the incident thoroughly, reviewing CCTV footage and gathering witness accounts. Their conclusion, delivered in a statement, was that this was a tragic accident with no involvement of any third party. A file would be prepared for the coroner ahead of a formal inquest, which would determine the official cause of death for all four family members. The investigation remained open, but the broad outlines of what happened were already clear: a family had entered the water and encountered circumstances—currents, exhaustion, panic, some combination of forces—that proved fatal.
The news of Saja's death sent fresh waves of grief through Shoreham. Chief Superintendent James Collis, speaking on behalf of Sussex Police, called it "heartbreaking," an update "one we all feared." He acknowledged that the tragedy had rippled far beyond the immediate community, affecting emergency responders and residents across the town. Prime Minister Andy Burnham described it as a "terrible family tragedy." At the beach, people left floral tributes. The Beach Residents' Association said the incident had "sent shockwaves across the local community." Local councillor Joss Loader, who has lived in Shoreham most of her life, called the deaths "shocking, heart-rending."
What began as a day trip to the seaside had become a family's complete erasure. Four people—a mother, a father, two daughters—had gone into the water together. None came home.
Citas Notables
This heartbreaking update is one we all feared in the aftermath of Tuesday's tragic events. The impact of this tragedy has been felt across the country.— Chief Superintendent James Collis, Sussex Police
A terrible family tragedy— Prime Minister Andy Burnham
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