
- An inquest has opened in Horsham into the deaths of four Palestinian family members from Craven Park, north-west London, following a tragic drowning incident at Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex.
- Six-year-old Saja El-Khawas died at Evelina Children's Hospital in London on 21 August due to hypoxic brain injury and drowning, three days after her parents, Hussam El-Khawas, 55, and Zeina Alayan, 37, alongside her 14-year-old sister Sara, were declared deceased.
- Emergency services, including the RNLI and Coastguard, were alerted after the family encountered difficulty in the sea near Shoreham Fort during a day trip from London.
- Sussex Police confirmed that an active investigation remains open, though initial witness statements and CCTV reviews suggest the deaths were accidental with no third-party involvement.
- Coroner Penelope Schofield offered her condolences and adjourned the inquests until 16 March next year, as a community GoFundMe campaign raised over £20,000 for funeral and repatriation costs to Lebanon.
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