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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Bournemouth beach deaths: Police say they are keeping 'open mind' | Bournemouth beach deaths: Police say they are keeping 'open mind' |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Sunnah Khan, a 12-year-old girl from Buckinghamshire, and 17-year-old Joe Abbess from Southampton both died in hospital on Wednesday | Sunnah Khan, a 12-year-old girl from Buckinghamshire, and 17-year-old Joe Abbess from Southampton both died in hospital on Wednesday |
| Police are keeping an "open mind" about the circumstances that led to the deaths of a girl and boy pulled from the sea off Bournemouth. | Police are keeping an "open mind" about the circumstances that led to the deaths of a girl and boy pulled from the sea off Bournemouth. |
| Joe Abbess, 17, from Southampton, and 12-year-old Sunnah Khan from Buckinghamshire both died in hospital after the incident on Wednesday. | Joe Abbess, 17, from Southampton, and 12-year-old Sunnah Khan from Buckinghamshire both died in hospital after the incident on Wednesday. |
| Dorset Police said it was considering causes including the impact of weather conditions and the state of the water. | Dorset Police said it was considering causes including the impact of weather conditions and the state of the water. |
| The force has dismissed speculation the pair had jumped from the pier. | The force has dismissed speculation the pair had jumped from the pier. |
| Joe's family described him as "a fabulous young man", while Sunnah's mother Stephanie Williams has posted on Twitter to pay tribute to her "beautiful daughter". | |
| Ms Williams tweeted: "No parent should ever have to go through what her dad and I are going through. We love you so much baby girl." | |
| Stephanie Williams (pictured with Sunnah) said she had lost her "beautiful girl" | |
| The incident involved 10 swimmers on a day when the beach was packed during half-term. | The incident involved 10 swimmers on a day when the beach was packed during half-term. |
| The Dorset Belle sightseeing boat was impounded by Dorset Police in the immediate aftermath, but the force said this was "just one of several lines of inquiry." | The Dorset Belle sightseeing boat was impounded by Dorset Police in the immediate aftermath, but the force said this was "just one of several lines of inquiry." |
| Det Ch Sup Neil Corrigan said: "We are working with experts from partner agencies to understand all of the factors and this will take time to establish. | Det Ch Sup Neil Corrigan said: "We are working with experts from partner agencies to understand all of the factors and this will take time to establish. |
| "We continue to support the families of Joe and Sunnah and they are being kept updated by specially trained family liaison officers about our investigation." | "We continue to support the families of Joe and Sunnah and they are being kept updated by specially trained family liaison officers about our investigation." |
| "I would ask that the police investigation is allowed to continue without further unhelpful speculation around circumstances of the incident, and that there is respect for the families of those who have died so tragically." | |
| The beach was cleared as emergency services attended the incident | |
| Tobias Ellwood, Conservative MP for Bournemouth East, said he believed police should have released more information that would have helped "place into context the scale of this major incident". | |
| "The absence of clarity led to really wild speculation on social media," he added. "Provide clarity early on - just so people can have an assurance of mind on what roughly happened." | |
| David Sidwick, Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, said: "It is the family of Sunnah Khan and Joe Abbess who have to be first in our thoughts both with our condolences and also from the point of view of whatever information comes forth. | |
| "This is a complex investigation - it includes a number of agencies." | |
| Mr Sidwick added: "They are working together as fast as they can to find out what happened on that day and I truly believe that they need to be given the time and space to do that fully, thoroughly, professionally without hindrance. | |
| "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. What is the point of saying to the family it's 'X' or it's not 'Y' if that isn't fully understood - we've got to let all these investigations work through." | |
| Police were at the scene of sightseeing boat the Dorset Belle on Friday | Police were at the scene of sightseeing boat the Dorset Belle on Friday |
| The force said none of the swimmers was involved in any collision or contact with any vessel in the water. | The force said none of the swimmers was involved in any collision or contact with any vessel in the water. |
| It has appealed for witnesses and urged people to send it any photographic footage. | It has appealed for witnesses and urged people to send it any photographic footage. |
| A man in his 40s, who was "on the water" at the time, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. He has since been released while inquiries continue. | A man in his 40s, who was "on the water" at the time, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. He has since been released while inquiries continue. |
| The force said an inquest into both of the deaths is anticipated to be opened later subject to confirmation by the coroner. | The force said an inquest into both of the deaths is anticipated to be opened later subject to confirmation by the coroner. |
| Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk. | Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk. |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Southampton | Southampton |
| Bournemouth | Bournemouth |