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| Bournemouth beach boat operations suspended after deaths | Bournemouth beach boat operations suspended after deaths |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Sunnah Khan and Joe Abbess both died in hospital last Wednesday | Sunnah Khan and Joe Abbess both died in hospital last Wednesday |
| All boat operations from Bournemouth Pier have been suspended "as a precaution" following the deaths of a girl and a teenage boy. | All boat operations from Bournemouth Pier have been suspended "as a precaution" following the deaths of a girl and a teenage boy. |
| Joe Abbess, 17, from Southampton, and 12-year-old Sunnah Khan, from Buckinghamshire, both died in hospital after an incident last Wednesday. | Joe Abbess, 17, from Southampton, and 12-year-old Sunnah Khan, from Buckinghamshire, both died in hospital after an incident last Wednesday. |
| An inquest heard a "suggestion" a riptide led to the pair drowning. | An inquest heard a "suggestion" a riptide led to the pair drowning. |
| The council said the ban on boat operations would remain pending the outcome of a police investigation. | The council said the ban on boat operations would remain pending the outcome of a police investigation. |
| The Dorset Belle pleasure boat was seen on Friday morning being guarded by police | |
| Dorset Police has said it was keeping an "open mind" and dismissed speculation the pair had jumped from the pier. | |
| The force said it was considering causes including the impact of weather conditions and the state of the water. | The force said it was considering causes including the impact of weather conditions and the state of the water. |
| The incident involved 10 swimmers on a day when the beach was packed during half-term. | |
| In the immediate aftermath, the Dorset Belle sightseeing boat was impounded by police, but the force said it was "just one of several lines of inquiry". | |
| It added that none of the swimmers were involved in any collision or contact with any vessel in the water. | |
| The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has said "no formal investigation has been launched" but it was continuing to make inquiries. | |
| In a statement released earlier, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council said all boat operations from the pier had been paused "as a precaution" while police continue to investigate. | |
| "We are aware the investigation is complex and will consult with Dorset Police when the investigation is complete," a spokesperson said. | |
| The beach was cleared as emergency services attended the incident | |
| 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. | |
| In a hearing to open the inquest proceedings at Bournemouth Town Hall on Monday, Dorset coroner's officer Nicola Muller said post-mortem examinations identified drowning as the cause of the deaths. | |
| "The brief circumstances are that emergency services were contacted by members of the public... following suggestion they had been caught in a riptide," she said. | |
| Riptides are strong currents running out to sea that can quickly drag people and objects away from the shallows of the shoreline and out to deeper water. | |
| Joe's family described him as "a fabulous young man", while Sunnah's mother Stephanie Williams posted on Twitter to pay tribute to her "beautiful daughter". | |
| She wrote: "No parent should ever have to go through what her dad and I are going through. We love you so much baby girl." | |
| The inquest was opened and adjourned for a pre-inquest review hearing on 18 September. | |
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| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Southampton | |
| Bournemouth | Bournemouth |