Mums pay tribute to ‘beautiful’ children who drowned off Bournemouth beach --[Reported by Umva mag]

The mums of two young people who died at Bournemouth beach have paid emotional tributes to the pair as an inquest into their deaths began.

Joe Abbess, 17, and Sunnah Khan, 12, drowned and eight other people were treated by paramedics after they are thought to have been caught in a rip tide next to the pier at the Dorset seaside resort on May 31 last year.

The Dorset Belle pleasure cruiser – which ran trips from Bournemouth Pier – was siezed by police after the fatal incident and a man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

But after consulting an expert, officers made the ‘evidence-based decision’ that the movement of the Dorset Belle did not contribute to creating dangerous sea conditions during the incident.

The arrested man will face no further action.

During a pre-inquest review, coroner Rachael Griffin said the Dorset Belle was not a factor in their deaths.

She said: ‘I have ruled out the involvement of the Dorset Belle and it being a causative and contributory factor in Joe and Sunnah’s death.

‘It would be speculative to link that boat to the deaths but also it’s important that within the evidence there may be reference to previous incidents.

‘There is no evidence that the boat was previously involved in previous incidents, again that is speculative to say it was.’

Both families thanked the emergency services for their efforts to save Joe and Sunnah.

Joe’s mother said the family has been ‘devastated’ at the loss of their ‘generous, loving, caring, hard-working and funny’ son.

Vanessa Abbess read a statement on behalf of herself and her husband Peter, paying tribute to the 17-year-old trainee chef for Southampton Football Club.

She told the Bournemouth hearing: ‘Joe was a wonderful son, brother and friend and we are all devastated by his death, he is greatly missed.

‘Our family and friends will always love him and we are incredibly proud of the fabulous young man he was.

‘Joe was generous, loving, caring, hard-working and funny. We were privileged to have him in our lives for 17 years and we are all so sorry that he will never be able to fulfil his dreams and ambitions.

‘Joe had a great life ahead of him and it is so tragic that he was snatched away from it. We all find a future without him in our lives very difficult to comprehend.’

She added: ‘Joe was so happy and enjoying life to the full until right before he died. He was working, enjoying college and loved spending time with his family and friends.

‘During Joe’s final week, he had some fun with his friends and was having a great day at the beach in Bournemouth before tragedy struck.

‘Our family used to love beaches and found the sound of waves calming but now hearing this sends shivers down our spines.’

Mrs Abbess said that she was concerned that there were insufficient lifeguards on duty on the day of the incident and by the first anniversary, there had been no signage put up warning of the dangers.

She said: ‘We question whether there were enough lifeguards on the beach initially to deal with the incident and whether they had experience in dealing with such large-scale incidents as there were so many casualties.

‘We question whether the area of sea where Joe died should have been a flagged safe swimming zone and whether it ought to have been redefined as unsafe following a riptide incident in August 2021.

‘We understand that emerging rip currents can happen very suddenly and be very ferocious, so feel watching the area from the shore may have been insufficient for public safety.

‘So yet again, based on the historic incidents in this location, why were safe swimming flags in place in a potentially dangerous area that day?

‘We feel that Joe and Sunnah’s deaths, all casualties and the entire incident could have been preventable if the flagged safe swimming zone had been reassessed.’

Sunnah’s mother paid a tearful tribute to her ‘kind, funny, reliable, smart and incredibly beautiful daughter’.

Stephanie Williams said her daughter was ‘incredibly popular at school’ and ‘fiercely protective of her family’.

Fighting back her emotions, Ms Williams explained that Sunnah’s name meant ‘the right path’ and added: ‘From the moment I saw her I loved her dearly. Everyone did.’

She said: ‘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.’

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