Girl, 6, rescued after family drowned off Shoreham beach was resuscitated but died in hospital from 'brain injury', inquest hears

A six-year-old girl rescued from the sea was resuscitated but died in hospital after showing signs of a brain injury throughout treatment, an inquest heard today.Palestinian refugee Hussam El-Khawas, 55, his wife Zeina Alayan, 37, and their daughter Sara El-Khawas, 14, were confirmed dead after being pulled from the water on August 18 in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex. Saja was still alive when she was pulled from the sea by a lifeboat crew, but despite being resuscitated on the beach and taken to the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton, she died three days later.The senior coroner for Brighton and West Sussex Penelope Schofield today offered her condolences to their wider family at a brief hearing ahead of a longer hearing at a date to be set.The family from north-west London were visiting Shoreham, near Brighton for the day when they all went into the sea to bathe.A massive search-and-rescue operation was launched after reports of people in trouble at sea, with police, paramedics, coastguard crews and a lifeboat attending. Coroner's Officer Kelly Truss told the hearing: 'All clinical signs throughout her admission showed evidence of hypoxic brain injury.'Saja was moved to the Evelina Children's Hospital where she lost her fight for life three days after her mother, father and older sister died. (L-R) Mother Zeina Alayan, 37, elder daughter Sara, 13, and father Hussam Abdallah El-Khawas, 55 all died in the water off Shoreham The Shoreham community honoured the family with a vigil, a town-centre minute of silence, and a paddleboard/kayak memorial on the water At a preliminary inquest, the cause of death for the parents and Sara remained unascertained, while Saja’s death was formally attributed to drowning-related brain injury. Pictured are floral tributes and a lantern left at the scene after the tragedy Her cause of death was given by Dr Hawa Sesay as brain injury caused by drowning.Post-mortem examinations were carried out on mum, dad and eldest daughter in Brighton by Dr Mark Taylor.The inquest heard that their cause of death remains unascertained.The family had been on a day trip to Shoreham on Tuesday, August 18.They got into the sea at Kingston Beach by Shoreham Fort.The parents and Sara were brought to shore by the RNLI and pronounced dead at the RNLI lifeboat station. The inquest heard the children were born at the Kensington and Chelsea hospital in London.Their parents were born in Rashidieh Camp, a Palestinian refugee camp on the Mediterranean coast in southern Lebanon and one of the country’s most populous Palestinian refugee camps. They both held British passports and gave their nationalities as Lebanese.Mum Zeina Alayan was described as a homemaker. Police currently believe the deaths were a tragic accident with no third-party involvement Two air ambulances were seen landing on the shore The family lived in a first-floor, two-bedroom council flat in north-west London (pictured) Dad Hussam Abdallah El-Khawas was described as an employed construction worker.His brother, Adnan Al-Kwass, was named as an interested person in the inquest. He was identified as next of kin and had been informed about the inquest. Sara was born in October 2012 in Kensington, while Saja was born in December 2019, also in Kensington, and the family lived in Craven Park, north-west London. No family members were present at the hearing in person or online.Adnan Hmidan, president of the Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB), said the family were returned to Lebanon, where they were laid to rest in a ceremony at the Rashidieh refugee camp where mum and dad were born.A spokesman for the PFB previously said the British-Palestinian family originated from the camp.More than £23,000 was raised to transfer the bodies to Lebanon when family were not allowed to visit the UK for a funeral, the PFB said.Emergency services were called to Shoreham Fort at about 1440 to a report of four people in difficulty.The family had travelled from their home in London to visit Shoreham for the day.A spokesman for Sussex Police said: 'The investigation into the incident remains open, but following review of CCTV footage and initial witness accounts, the current hypothesis is that this was a tragic accident, with no third-party involvement.'The community left flowers and other tributes to the family on the shoreTom Rutland MP said: 'The whole community here is heartbroken by the death of Saja.'Coroner Penelope Schofield said: 'I offer my sincere condolences to the wider family for the tragic circumstances surrounding their deaths.'The full inquest is expected in March next year.