THE RNLI assisted in three previous ‘mass casualty rescues’ in the summers before two children drowned at Bournemouth beach, an inquest heard.
The manager of lifeguard operations told Dorset Coroner’s Court of three incidents involving five or more casualties before 17-year-old Joe Abbess and 12-year-old Sunnah Khan tragically died in May 2023.
The fatal incident saw the two youngsters, along with eight others, become caught in a riptide on Bournemouth beach.
Peter Dawes, general manager of lifeguard operations for RNLI, told the court that the three previous incidents on Bournemouth beach took place between 2021 and 2022.
On August 30, 2021, 18 people were rescued by the RNLI followed by eight people on July 17, 2022, and 16 people on August 13, 2022.
Although the incidents were classed as ‘mass casualty rescues’, Mr Dawes said the RNLI ‘assisted’ casualties rather than conducting ‘life-saving’ rescues.
He added that the time of the incident, in May 2023, is deemed as an ‘off-peak season’ where a maximum of four lifeguards would be on the beach.
On that day, there were 24 RNLI lifeguards on beaches stretching from Sandbanks to Christchurch, including three on Bournemouth West and three on Bournemouth East.
Senior coroner for Dorset, Rachael Griffin, reading from documents, said the first lifeguard entered the water at 3.53pm, followed by a second lifeguard at 3.56pm.
Contact was then made to RNLI Poole operation centre which contacted HM Coastguard, Southwestern Ambulance Service and other lifeguards who responded on jet skis.
Sunnah’s mother, Stephanie Williams, previously said to the court in a statement that it took 50 minutes to locate her daughter’s body in five feet of water.
It was said that in the latest beach safety assessment report, conducted in December 2020, it was identified that rip currents posed a risk on Bournemouth beach.
Following suggested control measures, a signage review was made in 2022, advising the installation of danger warning signs of rip currents along the seafront.
This review by the RNLI was passed to BCP Council in March 2023, two months before the fatal incident.
The parents of Joe and Sunnah have since questioned the number of lifeguards on the beach, whether signage should have been in place and how appropriate the ‘safe swimming’ zones were.
The hearing continues.
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