Four members of family died after ‘getting into trouble’ in sea

Zeina Alayn, left, pictured alongside her daughter, Sarah, middle, and husband Hossam Al-Khawas, right Four family members who were pulled from the sea off the Sussex coast died after ‘getting into trouble in the sea’, an inquest has heard. Hussam El-Khawas, 55, his wife Zeina Alayan, 37, older daughter Sara El-Khawas, 14, and youngest daughter Saja El-Khawas, six, were all pulled from the water at Shoreham-by-Sea. Saja, the youngest, was rescued from the water and resuscitated, but died on August 21 in hospital after showing signs of a brain injury throughout treatment. An inquest into the deaths of all four family members opened at Horsham today. The hearing heard that the RNLI was called after reports of ‘members of the public getting into trouble in the sea’. Sign up for all of the latest stories Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens. Palestinian refugee Mr El-Khawas, Ms Alayan and Sara were brought ashore by lifeboat crews at Kingston Beach before being pronounced dead at the RNLI lifeboat station. Four family members were pulled from the sea at Shoreham-by-Sea, pictured (Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire) Saja was taken to the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton in a critical condition before being transferred to Evelina London Children’s Hospital at St Thomas’ Hospital. Coroner’s officer Kelly Truss told the hearing that Saja showed signs of a brain injury in hospital. ‘All clinical signs throughout her admission showed evidence of a hypoxic brain injury,’ she said. Saja was pronounced dead on August 21, with a provisional cause of death given as hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy and drowning. The cause of death for the other three family members has not yet been established. The family is understood to have travelled from their home in north-west London to visit Shoreham on August 18. After entering the water near Shoreham Fort, they got into difficulty at around 2pm. Police, paramedics, coastguard crews and an RNLI lifeboat were all called to the scene as the family members were recovered from the water. Sussex Police said its investigation remains ongoing, but after a review of CCTV footage and initial witness accounts, it is thought that the deaths were accidental and there was no third-party involvement. An inquest into the deaths of all four family members opened on Tuesday (Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire) Mr El-Khawas was a Palestinian refugee from the Rashidieh Camp in Lebanon, according to the Palestinian embassy, and also worked in construction. Ms Alayan, meanwhile, was described at the inquest as a homemaker. Sara and Saja were both born in Kensington. So far, a GoFundMe campaign set up by the Palestinian Forum in Britain had raised more than its £20,000 target. Coroner Penelope Schofield offered her condolences to the family before adjourning the inquests until March 16 next year. ‘In respect of all four family members, there is an ongoing police investigation,’ she said. ‘I offer my sincerest condolences to the wider family for the loss of these four family members in these circumstances.’ News Updates Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.