Palestinian refugee and two relatives drown off English coast

What the report says

Three members of a Palestinian British family died after going into the sea near Shoreham Fort in Shoreham-by-Sea on England’s Sussex coast, according to Al Jazeera, citing the Palestinian embassy in London and police-related reporting. The incident took place on Tuesday, and the embassy announced the deaths the following day.

The people who died were identified as Hossam al-Khawas, a woman, and a teenage girl. Al-Khawas was described by the Press Association as a Palestinian refugee from Rashidieh Camp in southern Lebanon, near Tyre. A younger girl was rescued and taken to hospital in critical condition. Al Jazeera reported that police, paramedics, coastguard crews and a lifeboat responded, and that four people were pulled from the water.

The Palestinian mission in the UK said it was monitoring the case and seeking information from British authorities about what happened and about the injured girl’s condition. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham called the deaths a “terrible family tragedy,” according to the BBC, and warned about the risks of open-water swimming.

The episode comes amid broader reporting about a rise in drownings during Europe’s heatwave. As general background, officials and safety experts often caution that open water can pose dangers such as cold water shock, strong currents and sudden drops in depth, even when conditions appear calm.