The Bournemouth beach where two children drowned had seen three “mass casualty rescues” over the two previous summers, an inquest has been told.
Sunnah Khan, 12, and Joe Abbess, 17, drowned on 31 May last year after being caught in a riptide, with eight other people treated by paramedics next to Bournemouth pier.
The RNLI’s general manager of lifeguard operations Peter Dawes told the inquest there have been three rescues involving five or more casualties over the summers of 2021 and 2022.
Those incidents involved:
• 18 people rescued on 30 August 2021;
• Eight people rescued on 17 July 2022;
• 16 people rescued on 13 August 2022.
All three incidents were classed as “assists” rather than more serious “life-saved” rescues, Mr Dawes said.
The last safety audit at the beach – owned by Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP Council) – was before all those incidents, on 4 December 2020, he added.
A “topographically-constrained rip” was identified as “high risk” in that audit, which recommended improved signage, the inquest heard.
The coroner Rachael Griffin said the report showed “there was a known risk to life with beach rips”, adding at the time there was not any signage on the dangers of rip currents.
There had been a review of signage, delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, carried out by the RNLI on behalf of BCP Council between 2022-23, which was sent to the local authority in March 2023, two months before last year’s fatal incident.
This review recommended additional warning symbols for “beware of strong currents” and “keeping children under supervision”.
The parents of the two youngsters have questioned the lifeguard response to the incident and whether better signs should have been in place.
Ms Griffin asked Mr Dawes if the three previous incidents should have triggered a heightened risk level for the beach.
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He replied: “Not necessarily, it’s essentially the fact these hazards exist which is why the lifeguard service is in place.”
Mr Dawes said seven qualified lifeguards were on duty on the beach – three on the east side of the pier and three on the west side, plus a supervisor – on the day.
He added further lifeguards, including watercraft units, from other beaches were scrambled to help once it became clear how serious the incident was.
The inquest continues.
