A boy and girl died of drowning off Bournemouth beach last week, an inquest has heard following a "suggestion" they got caught in a riptide
Joe Abbess, a 17-year-old from Southampton, and Sunnah Khan, a 12-year-old from Buckinghamshire, were rescued off the coast of Bournemouth on Wednesday May, 31, but tragically died hours later in hospital.
The Mirror reports that an inquest into the incident was held on Monday, June 5, amid concerns over a lack of clarity from police about the deaths. Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We do need to understand, learn lessons from this, provide clarity early on - just so people can have an assurance of mind as to what roughly happened."
The Bournemouth East MP added: "Certainly anybody would not want to impede or prejudice the investigation. But if the absence of any comprehensive statement becomes standard, I can see who, speaking on a wider picture and security level... those who wish us harm could leverage the void by misleading messaging."
Sunnah's mum, Stephanie Williams, had also demanded police to explain what happened to her daughter. She told The Sun : "It’s just really difficult to accept, somebody has potentially caused Sunnah to be taken away from us.
“The police have only told us what they said in a statement. The cause of death was drowning, there were no other injuries."
However, Tory Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, David Sidwick, defended the police's handling of the case which he described as "complex". Local officers have said that at the time of the incident, the beach was extremely busy and are continuing to appeal for witnesses to come forward.
Though they have stressed that neither the teenagers or anyone else pulled from the sea at the time of the incident was involved in a collision or contact with any vessel in the water. A 40-year-old man who was "on the water" at the time was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter but was released after further enquiries on Thursday, June 1.
"Significant speculation" had arisen regarding a pleasure boat that was in the area at the time of the tragedy near to the Bournemouth Pier. The force has said the investigation is looking at all circumstances of the incident, including weather, wind conditions and the state of the water at the time.
Appearing on the Today programme, Mr Sidwick stated that officers were working with other agencies to determine the circumstances surrounding the deaths. He said: "This is a complex investigation. It includes a number of agencies including the coroner's office, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Dorset police.
"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 and without hindrance."
He suggested that while there would be a review of police communication "at the end of all this", Dorset police had "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 and they shouldn't because the veracity of any statement made by those investigating this incident must be beyond reproach," Mr Sidwick added.
"And not just for any legal situation, but also because it is, to remind everyone - the victims and their families' needs are paramount."
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