Funeral held for 12 year old from High Wycombe who died at Bournemouth beach

Sunnah Khan and a 17 year old lost their lives after the incident four days ago

A tribute to the victims left at the scene
Author: Jonny FreemanPublished 4th Jun 2023

A funeral's been held for a 12-year-old girl who died after being pulled from the sea in Bournemouth.

Sunnah Khan from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire lost her life after getting into difficulty while swimming at the Dorset resort on Wednesday.

A 17-year-old boy from Southampton also died in the incident.

Dorset Police are continuing to investigate what happened.

The Dorset Belle has been impounded by Dorset Police after the incident on Wednesday in which another eight people were treated by paramedics.

A man in his 40s who was "on the water" at the time was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, and was released under investigation on Thursday while police inquiries continue.

On Friday the 49-year-old sea-going passenger boat Dorset Belle remained at anchor at Cobb's Quay, Poole Harbour, guarded by a police van.

Officials were seen on the boat on Friday continuing investigations into the vessel and any role it may have had in the incident.

According to the website Marine Traffic, the vessel had visited Bournemouth Pier, the scene of the incident, at 4pm, minutes before the first 999 calls were made, and returned again afterwards.

A press conference was held almost a day after the incident

Dorset Police said no physical contact was made between the swimmers and any vessel or jet-ski and those involved had not been jumping off the pier.

Officers have declined to comment on any investigation into the Dorset Belle and refused to say what or if any vessel was involved .

Tobias Ellwood, Conservative MP for Bournemouth East, told the PA news agency that he believed Dorset Police should provide more information to avoid "wild speculation".

On Friday Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council released a statement saying: "While the cause of last Wednesday's tragic incident is still being investigated, safety is our priority and as a matter of course after any sort of incident, we work with our partners to review safety provision.

"We have increased the visibility of council seafront staff at Bournemouth Beach and the RNLI's lifeguards will continue to be on patrol across the area.

"All coastal waters have inherent risks that change with tide and weather conditions, changes to the seabed etc.

"We work with other agencies to assess the risks and put safety measures in place, such as RNLI lifeguards, safety signage and restricting the use of boats close to shore. Lifeguards assess local conditions throughout the day and react accordingly.

"We want anyone visiting our beaches to enjoy them in safety, so are asking people to follow the RNLI's beach safety advice:

"Choose a lifeguarded beach and swim between the red and yellow flags, check the weather and tide times before you go.

"If you get caught in a rip current, don't swim against it - instead, relax and float until you are free from the rip, then swim to safety.

"If you find yourself in danger in the water, relax and float.

"If you see anyone in trouble in the water, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard."

Dorset Police has said it is working with the Marine Accident Investigation Branch and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to investigate the incident.

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