School ‘deeply saddened’ by death of family in sea off Shoreham
West London School Pays Tribute After Family Tragedy in Shoreham Sea
Ninoda.com – The Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls in Ealing, west London, has issued a heartfelt tribute following the deaths of a 14-year-old pupil and her two parents, who were killed after entering the sea near Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex.
Sara El-Khawas, 14, along with her father Hassan El-Khawas, 55, and mother Zeina Alayn, 37, are believed to have gone into the water close to Shoreham Fort on Tuesday, Sussex Police confirmed. All three were later pronounced dead.
School Response
In a statement posted on its website, the school described Sara as a "sweet girl, well-liked by staff and students." Head teacher Rachel Kruger addressed the grief felt across the school community:
"We are deeply saddened by this, and our thoughts are with her family, friends and all those affected. Our focus is now on supporting staff and students who have been affected by this."
Family Background
The Palestinian Forum in Britain identified the family as British citizens of Palestinian descent, tracing their roots to the Rashidieh refugee camp in Lebanon. The Palestinian embassy in London separately told the BBC that Hassan El-Khawas had previously been a refugee.
The family is understood to have travelled from London to Shoreham on the very day of the incident. Police described the event as a tragic accident with no third-party involvement.
Police and Emergency Response
Deputy Chief Constable Paul Court, speaking on BBC Radio Sussex, called the incident "utterly, utterly tragic" and commended the professionalism of Sussex Police officers and other emergency services, describing the response as "really professionally managed."
He also acknowledged the two younger children who were on the shore when the family went into difficulty. Court noted that delivering such devastating news to those families is itself "utterly traumatic," both for the recipients and for the officers tasked with breaking it.
Surviving Child and Community Reaction
A fourth member of the family, a younger girl, remains in hospital in critical condition. According to the Palestinian Forum in Britain, the two children are now being cared for by an uncle.
Floral tributes were laid near Kingston Beach on Thursday morning in memory of the three who died. Taher Aziz of the Adur Muslim Centre said the local community was "shocked to learn of the loss of three members of a family, and the critical condition of the surviving young girl," and pledged prayers for the deceased and for the young girl's swift recovery.
Government Comment
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham used the tragedy to warn of the dangers of open-water swimming, describing the Shoreham incident as "a terrible family tragedy."
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