Two youngsters died after 'flash' rip current at Bournemouth beach

Two youngsters drowned after being caught in a rip current following an “unexpected anomaly of nature".

A coroner has concluded that the deaths of Joe Abbess, 17, and Sunnah Khan, 12, at Bournemouth beach were accidents, following an eight-day inquest.

Joe and Sunnah drowned and eight other people were treated by paramedics after they were thought to have been caught in a rip current next to the pier on May 31 last year.

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Throughout the eight-day inquest into their deaths, the parents of the two youngsters questioned the response time of the lifeguards and whether there should have been more prominent warning signs about the risk of rip currents by the pier, along with safety advice for swimmers.

On Friday, returning her findings, Dorset senior coroner Rachael Griffin said: “I cannot say the tragic outcome would have been any different if the lifeguards had entered the water earlier as this would be purely speculative.

“This was a spontaneous event and not an event that was impacted by deliberate human factor.”

The coroner further noted that she was satisfied "nothing more than was done, could have been done" to prevent the tragic deaths and that the flash rip current would have been challenging to spot from the beach, where lifeguards were patrolling.

It is believed that the flash rip current occurred around 3.45pm that day, with the first lifeguard entering the water to begin rescues at 3.53pm.

The inquest heard that while Bournemouth beach is generally considered "relatively low hazard", conditions such as wind and higher waves can significantly increase risks.

The inquest also heard from lifeguards on duty that signage to warn of strong currents was put out on the beach that day because of the easterly wind present that day which “makes the beach more dangerous”.

Mrs Griffin said Joe and Sunnah, who had visited the beach with friends and family respectively, were abiding by the rules on the beach and swimming between the designated red and yellow flag zone.

She said it cannot be said they would have behaved any differently if there was permanent signage fixed on the beach.

Following the coroner’s conclusion, Sunnah’s parents, Stephanie Williams and Asim Khan, paid tribute to their “kind, happy, and incredibly beautiful” daughter who was a “force of nature”.

The parents also said they hope shining a light on the tragic circumstances will open the conversation around educating children on water safety.

Reacting to the conclusion Joe’s mother, Vanessa Abbess, described the trainee chef at Southampton Football Club as “generous, loving, caring, hardworking and funny” and that the family was “incredibly proud of the fabulous young man he was.”

Mrs Abbess said through the inquest many of the family’s questions “have been answered” and the coroner has searched for lessons learned.

“This can’t bring our precious Joe back, but it gives us some comfort that other families won’t have to go through what we have.

“We have visited Bournemouth beach this week to reflect and remember Joe. We saw the fresh concrete on the signs which warn of strong currents.

“While we appreciate this has been done now, it should not have taken this long.”

At the conclusion of the inquest, the coroner paid tribute to the RNLI and emergency services for their response that day, and to the RNLI and British coastguard for their work to inform the public on water safety.

She added she will be writing to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson in a prevention of future deaths report over her concerns of the lack of mandatory education in schools regarding water safety.

“It concerns me water safety does not form part of that curriculum,” she said.

The move was welcomed by Mrs Abbess, who added: “We feel much more can be done to improve education around water safety. We share the senior coroner’s concern that there should be mandatory water safety education for children.

“Like the senior coroner, I am concerned that this should be universal for all children.

“If any message can be taken from our loss, it is that rip currents can be dangerous, and everyone should know and practice the RNLI’s advice of float to live.”

The mother also shared her concern about the lack of a clear legislative framework and responsibility around beach and sea safety, and said the family will be campaigning for change for the Government to address the ambiguities.