The 12-year-old girl who died in the Bournemouth beach tragedy was chest-deep in the sea when she was pulled underwater, it has emerged as her heartbroken mother paid tribute to her “well-loved” daughter.
Sunnah Khan, 12, from High Wycombe, was standing chest-deep in the sea before the incident unfolded beside Bournemouth Pier, according to The Sun. A 17-year-old trainee chef from Southampton, Joe Abbess, also died after a struggle in the water.
Her mother Stephanie Williams has now shared a picture of her daughter laughing on Bournemouth beach with The Sun, with the newspaper saying it was taken shortly before the tragedy happened.
Ms Williams said: “Sunnah was so well loved and well liked. No parent should ever have to go through what her dad and I are going through. We love you so much baby girl.”
Follow the latest updates on what happened at Bournemouth beach last week here.
Ms Williams told the newspaper that she has not been given any information beyond what Dorset Police said at a news conference following the deaths.
“It’s just really difficult to accept,” she told The Sun. “Somebody has potentially caused Sunnah to be taken away from us.”
Ms Williams added the cause of her daughter’s death was drowning but there were “no other injuries”.
“We don’t actually know how it came about,” she said.
Sunnah had gone to Bournemouth beach for the day with her dad, Asim Khan, 37, and her siblings.
The grief-stricken mother said she does want any other family to “lose their child in such a traumatic and awful way” and “relive what we’ve been going through”, adding that Sunnah “must have been terrified”.
Friends of Sunnah have also paid tribute after the incident, with one saying: “She will be missed by everyone, she was very popular and her death will leave a hole that will be impossible to fill. 'She had so much more to look forward to. She was an angel.”
On Sunday, the family of 17-year-old Joe paid tribute to the “fabulous young man”.
They said: “We are heartbroken and devastated at the death of our Joe. He was a wonderful son and brother who is sadly missed.
“His family and friends will always love him and we are incredibly proud of the fabulous young man he was. He was kind and generous, loving and caring, hardworking and funny.
“Joe was a talented trainee chef, with a bright future ahead of him. We were privileged to have him in our lives for 17 years and we are so sorry he will never fulfil his dreams and ambitions.
“He was enjoying a day at the beach on Wednesday and we would like to thank his friends and all of the emergency services who helped him, when this tragedy unfolded.”
Local Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood questioned the lack of clarity from police investigating the circumstances of the incident in Bournemouth, saying that it had led to “wild speculation on social media”.
The Bournemouth East MP told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Certainly anybody would not want to impede or prejudice the investigation. But if the absence of any comprehensive statement becomes standard, I can see who, speaking on a wider picture and security level... those who wish us harm could leverage the void by misleading messaging.
“We do need to understand, learn lessons from this, provide clarity early on - just so people can have an assurance of mind as to what roughly happened, and then make their own assessments as to whether it’s safe to go or whether they should move away.”
David Sidwick, the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, defended the police handling of the incident.
He told BBC Radio 4: “At this moment in time, we have to understand that this is an immensely complex situation. The police moved to rule out those things which they could rule out when they had enough evidence to be able to do that.
“What they can’t do is say what exactly happened and they shouldn’t because the veracity of any statement made by those investigating this incident must be beyond reproach.
“And not just for any legal situation, but also because it is, to remind everyone - the victims and their families’ needs are paramount.”
