An inquest has heard that a six-year-old girl, rescued from the sea after her family drowned, died in hospital due to a brain injury sustained from the incident. The girl, Saja, was resuscitated on the beach after being pulled from the water by a lifeboat crew but later died at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton.

Her father, Hussam Abdallah El-Khawas, 55, her mother, Zeina Alayan, 37, and her older sister, Sara, 14, all died in the incident off Shoreham, West Sussex, last month. The family, originally from a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon and holding British passports, were on a day trip from their home in north-west London.

Coroner's Officer Kelly Truss told the preliminary hearing that "all clinical signs throughout her admission showed evidence of hypoxic brain injury." Saja was subsequently moved to the Evelina Children's Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries three days after her mother, father, and sister.

The senior coroner for Brighton and West Sussex, Penelope Schofield, offered condolences to the wider family at the brief hearing. The full inquest is expected to be held in March of the following year.

The family entered the sea at Kingston Beach by Shoreham Fort on Tuesday, August 18. Emergency services were alerted around 2:40 p.m. following reports of people in difficulty. A large-scale search and rescue operation involving police, paramedics, coastguard crews, and a lifeboat was launched.

The parents and older daughter, Sara, were pronounced dead at the RNLI lifeboat station after being brought ashore. Post-mortem examinations for the three have been conducted, but their causes of death remain unascertained. Saja’s cause of death was formally attributed to a drowning-related brain injury by Dr. Hawa Sesay.

Police are investigating the incident and, based on CCTV footage and initial witness accounts, currently believe it to be a tragic accident with no third-party involvement. The family lived in a first-floor, two-bedroom council flat in north-west London.

Following the tragedy, the Shoreham community held a vigil, a minute of silence in the town center, and a paddleboard and kayak memorial on the water. Floral tributes and lanterns were also left at the scene.

The bodies of the family were returned to Lebanon and laid to rest in the Rashidieh refugee camp, where the parents were born. The Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB) stated that over £23,000 was raised to facilitate the transfer of the bodies, as family members were reportedly unable to travel to the UK for a funeral.

Tom Rutland MP commented on the incident, stating, "The whole community here is heartbroken by the death of Saja."