Mothers pay tribute to 'beautiful' children who drowned off Bournemouth beach

The mothers of two children who drowned in Bournemouth have paid tributes to them at the start of an inquest into their deaths.

Sunnah Khan, 12, and Joe Abbess, 17, died after they were thought to have been caught in a riptide next to the pier at the Dorset seaside resort on 31 May last year.

Eight other people were treated by paramedics.

At Dorset Coroner’s Court in Bournemouth on Tuesday the families of the pair spoke about their loss.

Joe’s mother Vanessa said the family have been “devastated” by the loss of their “generous, loving, caring, hardworking and funny” son.

She said the trainee chef at Southampton Football Club was “a wonderful son, brother and friend and we are all devastated by his death, he is greatly missed”.

In her statement to the inquest, Ms Abbess described receiving a call from her son’s friend, Nieve who “sounded very panicked and said there had been an incident in the sea involving Joe”.

“She [Nieve] said there were lifeguards and that they were trying to get Joe and Tom out of the water. She sounded hysterical,” she said.

Another friend, Anna, also called Ms Abbess to say “Joe was in the sea when the waves got crazy and that the alarm had been raised”.

Later a hospital consultant rang to tell her they “couldn’t do any more for Joe”. She added: “I was devastated and so shocked at this news, I fell to my knees and sobbed, I was on my own and utterly heartbroken”.

The inquest also heard from Stephanie Williams who described her daughter Sunnah as “kind, funny, reliable, smart and incredibly beautiful”.

“At her core Sunnah was kind, funny, reliable, smart and incredibly beautiful. Her smile lit up a room and her laugh was infectious.

“She cared about so many people and would do anything for her family and friends. She was a force of nature, to know her was to be truly lucky. We have missed her and will continue to miss her for the rest of our lives.”

What is a riptide or rip current?

Rips are strong currents running out to sea which can quickly drag people away from the shoreline and out to deeper water, the RNLI explains.

They can reach up to 4-5mph, which is faster than an Olympic swimmer.

They are a major cause of accidental drowning on beaches across the globe. In the UK, over 60% of RNLI lifeguard incidents involve rip currents.

They can be difficult to spot but can often be identified by a channel of churning, choppy water or debris on the sea’s surface.

The RNLI advises that if you do get caught in a rip current to stay calm. If you can, stand up and do not try to swim. If you cannot stand, swim parallel to the beach and raise your hand and shout for help.

Ms Abbess said the family was campaigning for improved education on sea safety in schools working with the RLSS UK (Royal Life Saving Society) in Joe and Sunnah’s memory.

“Joe always cared for others, so we want to do this for him,” adding that “we would like to see more education within schools about safe open-water swimming” and “knowledge of what to do in an emergency”.

On Monday, coroner Rachael Griffin ruled a pleasure cruiser was not involved in a “causative or contributory” way following the deaths.

Dorset Belle, a pleasure cruiser that ran trips from Bournemouth Pier, was impounded and a man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter following the deaths.