Girl, 6, dies in hospital days after three members of her Palestinian family tragically drowned near Shoreham
A six-year-old girl has died after being pulled from the sea near Shoreham in a tragedy that also claimed the lives of three members of her family.
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Saja El-Khawas, six, has died in hospital after she was pulled from the sea at Shoreham on Tuesday alongside three of her family members who also died, according to a law firm acting for the hospital and the Palestinian Forum in Britain.
Saja's father, Palestinian refugee Hossam Al-Khawas, 55, is thought to have gone into the water to swim with three other family members - understood to be his wife Zeina Alyan, 37, and their 14-year-old daughter Sarah El-Khawas - when they got into trouble off the Sussex coast on Tuesday afternoon.
Hossam was reportedly from the Rashidieh Camp in Lebanon.
He, Zeina and Sarah lost their lives on Tuesday - before Saja was taken to hospital while in a critical condition.
After a three-day fight for life, she was confirmed to have died on Friday evening.
Emergency services were called to the scene at 3pm on Tuesday afternoon, after reports of four members of the same family getting into difficulty in the sea.
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Sussex Police's Chief Superintendent James Collis confirmed that a man, a woman, and a teenage girl had lost their lives on Tuesday.
Collis said the family's next of kin have been informed, and that they had entered the water from land for a swim and "sadly got into difficulty".
The senior officer added: "Our thoughts are with the friends and family. I know this incident will have a profound effect on the community." The response was sparked after fishermen spotted the family struggling in the water.
Sussex Police urged people to stay away from the area near Shoreham Fort after the tragedy.
The popular beach is just a 20-minute walk from Brighton.
Two air ambulances were seen close to the RNLI station in the holiday hotspot - alongside multiple road ambulances.
A section of the A259 in Shoreham was also closed due to the emergency response.
Earlier, a spokesman for HM Coastguard said: “HM Coastguard responded to an incident reported at Shoreham at about 2.45pm on 18 August.“
An HM Coastguard helicopter was sent, as well as Littlehampton, Shoreham and Newhaven Coastguard Rescue Teams, and an RNLI lifeboat from Shoreham.