Palestinian-British family die in 'tragic accident' off English coast

LONDON, Aug 19 - A Palestinian-British couple and their daughter died on Tuesday after getting into difficulty in the sea off the southern coast of England, while a second daughter remains in critical condition.

The victims were identified on Wednesday by police as Hassan El-Khawas, 55, his partner, Zeina Alayn, 37, and their 14-year-old daughter, Sara El-Khawas.

The Palestinian embassy in London described the family as Palestinian-British in a post on X expressing its condolences.

In a separate statement to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, the embassy said the family was originally from the Rashidieh refugee camp in southern Lebanon. The embassy did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for confirmation.

Police said they believed the family had travelled to Shoreham-by-Sea from their home in London and that investigators' current theory was that the deaths were a "tragic accident, with no third-party involvement." REUTERS