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| Camber Sands: Seven deaths caused by misadventure, coroner concludes | Camber Sands: Seven deaths caused by misadventure, coroner concludes |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The deaths of seven men who drowned in two separate incidents at a beach in East Sussex last summer were caused by misadventure, a coroner has concluded. | The deaths of seven men who drowned in two separate incidents at a beach in East Sussex last summer were caused by misadventure, a coroner has concluded. |
| Two men died at Camber Sands in July, followed by five young friends a month later in August. | Two men died at Camber Sands in July, followed by five young friends a month later in August. |
| Following an inquest in Hastings, Coroner Alan Craze said it was "not known" whether deploying lifeguards would have prevented the deaths. | Following an inquest in Hastings, Coroner Alan Craze said it was "not known" whether deploying lifeguards would have prevented the deaths. |
| The RNLI had recommended employing lifeguards previously. | The RNLI had recommended employing lifeguards previously. |
| Recording his conclusions, Mr Craze said: "The RNLI had recommended, amongst other measures, deploying lifeguards at the beach in 2013 but this had not happened. | Recording his conclusions, Mr Craze said: "The RNLI had recommended, amongst other measures, deploying lifeguards at the beach in 2013 but this had not happened. |
| "Of course, it is not known whether such a step would have prevented the deaths, but it has now been implemented." | "Of course, it is not known whether such a step would have prevented the deaths, but it has now been implemented." |
| Q&A: What happened at Camber Sands? | |
| Mr Craze said he would be sending off a prevention of future deaths letter to official figures highlighting his concerns including those over the control of risk assessments. | |
| The inquest had heard that there was no legal requirement for Rother District Council to follow through with recommendations contained in risk assessments by the RNLI. | |
| Consultant forensic pathologist Dr Brett Lockyer recorded a cause of death of immersion [drowning] for all five victims who died last August. | |
| Live: More on this story and other news from Sussex | |
| Victims | Victims |
| Kenugen Saththiyanathan, 18, known as Ken, died alongside his brother Kobikanthan Saththiyanathan, 22, known as Kobi, both from Erith, south-east London. | Kenugen Saththiyanathan, 18, known as Ken, died alongside his brother Kobikanthan Saththiyanathan, 22, known as Kobi, both from Erith, south-east London. |
| Their three friends who also died were Nitharsan Ravi, 22, from Plumstead, Inthushan Sriskantharasa, 23, from Grays, Essex and Gurushanth Srithavarajah, 27, from Welling. | Their three friends who also died were Nitharsan Ravi, 22, from Plumstead, Inthushan Sriskantharasa, 23, from Grays, Essex and Gurushanth Srithavarajah, 27, from Welling. |
| Two other people had also died there a month earlier. | Two other people had also died there a month earlier. |
| On 24 July, Mohit Dupar, 36, from Hayes, west London, attempted to reach Brazilian Gustavo Silva Da Cruz, 19, after he got into difficulty. | On 24 July, Mohit Dupar, 36, from Hayes, west London, attempted to reach Brazilian Gustavo Silva Da Cruz, 19, after he got into difficulty. |
| Mr Silva Da Cruz died at the scene. Mr Dupar died in hospital four days later. | Mr Silva Da Cruz died at the scene. Mr Dupar died in hospital four days later. |
| The inquest heard the five men were all fit, healthy and competent swimmers but were unaware of "hidden dangers". | The inquest heard the five men were all fit, healthy and competent swimmers but were unaware of "hidden dangers". |
| Oceanographer Dr Simon Boxall believed they got into trouble after heading out to a sandbar to play ball a significant distance out at sea, and then got into trouble amid a fast, incoming tide as they tried to head back to shore. | Oceanographer Dr Simon Boxall believed they got into trouble after heading out to a sandbar to play ball a significant distance out at sea, and then got into trouble amid a fast, incoming tide as they tried to head back to shore. |
| He told the inquest there was insufficient wave activity to build up rip currents at the beach, but there would have been strong currents that would have had a significant impact even on a strong swimmer. | He told the inquest there was insufficient wave activity to build up rip currents at the beach, but there would have been strong currents that would have had a significant impact even on a strong swimmer. |
| 'Beach patrol staff' | 'Beach patrol staff' |
| Nine deaths occurred at Camber in the four years from 2012, including the seven last summer. | Nine deaths occurred at Camber in the four years from 2012, including the seven last summer. |
| There were no lifeguards on the beach prior to the seven deaths. | There were no lifeguards on the beach prior to the seven deaths. |
| Instead, the area was manned by beach patrol staff whose tasks included reuniting lost children with their parents and dealing with lost property. | Instead, the area was manned by beach patrol staff whose tasks included reuniting lost children with their parents and dealing with lost property. |
| The inquest was told that in 2013 the RNLI had offered to deploy lifeguards following a risk assessment after the death of Tanzeela Ajmal, 31, a year earlier, and a number of near misses. | The inquest was told that in 2013 the RNLI had offered to deploy lifeguards following a risk assessment after the death of Tanzeela Ajmal, 31, a year earlier, and a number of near misses. |
| Beach-goer Thatchayiny Segar drowned at Camber in 2015. | |
| The RNLI also offered to provide lifeguards at Camber in 2009. | The RNLI also offered to provide lifeguards at Camber in 2009. |
| 'Good swimmers' | |
| Arumukam Saththiyanathan, the father of Ken and Kobi, said in a statement to the inquest that they had "good swimming ability" and their Sri Lankan village was surrounded by three big rivers. | |
| He said his sons swam in Sri Lanka almost every weekend before they came to the UK in July 2008. | |
| "As a family, we went to the beaches in the UK nearly every summer and the boys went without us sometimes," he said. | |
| Speaking after the verdicts, the families of the five friends said if there had been lifeguards on duty they would have been "alive today". | |
| They said all five were competent swimmers but had been "blamed for their own deaths". | |
| One of the fathers said it had been claimed the group were of Asian origin and not able to swim. |