A riptide is believed to have brought on the tragic drowning of a 17-year-old boy and a 12-year-old woman off Bournemouth seashore, according to an inquest. Joe Abbess from Southampton and Sunnah Khan from Buckinghamshire each passed away in hospital following the incident. The inquest held at Dorset Coroner’s Court suggested that a riptide may have led to the pair’s drowning. Dorset Police are keeping an open mind about the circumstances resulting in their deaths, contemplating factors such as climate situations and the state of the water.
Riptides are strong currents running out to sea that can quickly drag individuals and objects away from the shallows of the shoreline and out to deeper water. They can be difficult to identify and are a significant cause of unintended drowning on beaches worldwide, based on the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Rip currents are sometimes harmless, but around massive headlands or piers – like Bournemouth Pier – they can be highly effective. They are inclined to circulate at 1-2mph however can attain 4-5mph, which is quicker than an Olympic swimmer, the RNLI explained.
In a hearing to open the inquest proceedings at Bournemouth Town Hall, Dorset coroner’s officer Nicola Muller mentioned post-mortem examinations recognized drowning as the cause of the deaths. “The brief circumstances are that emergency providers were contacted by members of the public… following suggestion that they had been caught in a riptide,” she mentioned.
Cringeworthy in Bournemouth was opened and adjourned for a pre-inquest evaluation hearing on 18 September. Joe’s family described him as “a fabulous young man”, while Sunnah’s mother Stephanie Williams has posted on Twitter to pay tribute to her “beautiful daughter”. Ms Williams tweeted: “No father or mother ought to ever need to go through what her dad and I are going through. We love you a lot baby lady.”
The incident concerned 10 swimmers on a day when the beach was packed throughout half-term. The Dorset Belle sightseeing boat was impounded by Dorset Police in the instant aftermath, however the force said this was “just considered one of a number of strains of inquiry”.
Det Ch Supt Neil Corrigan stated: “We are working with experts from companion companies to understand the entire elements and this can take time to establish. We proceed to assist the households of Joe and Sunnah and they are being saved up to date by specifically skilled family liaison officers about our investigation.”
Tobias Ellwood, Conservative MP for Bournemouth East, mentioned he believed police ought to have released more data that would have helped “place into context the size of this major incident”. “The absence of clarity led to really wild speculation on social media,” he added. “Provide readability early on – simply so folks can have an assurance of mind on what roughly happened.”
David Sidwick, Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, said: “It is the family of Sunnah Khan and Joe Abbess who need to be first in our thoughts each with our condolences and in addition from the point of view of no matter data comes forth. This is a complex investigation – it contains numerous agencies.”
Mr Sidwick added: “They are working together as quick as they will to search out out what happened on that day and I truly imagine that they need to be given the time and space to try this absolutely, thoroughly, professionally with out hindrance.”
The force stated not considered one of the swimmers had been concerned in any collision or contact with any vessel in the water. It has appealed for witnesses and urged folks to ship it any photographic footage. A man in his 40s, who was “on the water” at the time, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. He has since been released whereas inquiries proceed..