A coroner has ruled that ‘nothing more could have been done’ to prevent the tragic deaths of two children on Bournemouth beach.

Joe Abbess, 17, from Southampton, and Sunnah Khan, 12, tragically drowned last summer after becoming caught in a riptide.

The incident on May 31, 2023, also involved eight other beach-goers who were treated by emergency services.

Senior coroner for Dorset, Rachael Griffin, has been holding an inquest into their deaths.

During the final hearing today (October 4), Ms Griffin told the court that both Joe and Sunnah were fit and healthy young people when they were pulled out to sea.

At 3.14pm Sunnah entered the water with her aunt and brother, who were laughing and joking together before her body was recovered at 4.45pm.  

Joe was in the water with his friends around 20 minutes before the incident and was stood at waist level when a large wave hit him.

His body was recovered at 4.18pm.

Ms Griffin said it was important to remember that Bournemouth beach is generally safe but ‘like every other body of water, there is an element of risk and unpredictability.’

On the day of the incident there were three lifeguards on Bournemouth East and two on Bournemouth West, with a senior lifeguard overlooking both.

A safer swim zone was flagged further away from the pier than usual due to reports of an easterly wind, along with temporary signage warning of strong currents.

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Sunnah’s father, Asim Khan, previously told the court that lifeguards thought everyone was out of the water before he said his daughter was still missing.

He said the lifeguards began to panic, and returned to the water, before he saw Sunnah “wash up” on the beach.

Sunnah’s mother, Stephanie Williams, described her daughter as a “force of nature” who was fiercely protective of her family.

Following her death, Sunnah’s mother questioned: "How did it take 50 minutes to locate Sunnah in 5ft of water?”

Joe’s mother, Vanessa Abbess, previously said that her son had his life “snatched away” from him.

After hearing the news of his death, she said she fell to her knees and sobbed.

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

Ms Griffin ruled that Joe and Sunnah both died from an unexpected anomaly of nature and that their deaths were an accident.

She also recorded a prevention for future deaths reports regarding beach safety education to children.

“It concerns me that water safety does not involve part of that education to ensure that all children are educated, not just those who attend swimming lessons or schools who include it in their syllabus.”

Ms Griffin said she encourages all members of the public to access water safety educational material before visiting the beach, such us from RNLI or HM Coastguard.