Coroner rules out involvement of pleasure cruiser in Bournemouth drowning deaths

A coroner has ruled out the involvement of a pleasure cruiser as “causative or contributory” to the deaths of two young people who drowned off Bournemouth beach.

Joe Abbess, 17, and Sunnah Khan, 12, drowned and eight other people were treated by paramedics after they were thought to have been caught in a riptide next to the pier at the Dorset seaside resort on May 31 last year.

Dorset Police impounded the pleasure cruiser Dorset Belle – which ran trips from Bournemouth Pier – following the fatal incident and arrested a man in his 40s on suspicion of manslaughter.

But after consulting an expert as part of its investigation, the force said it had made the “evidence-based decision” that the movement of the Dorset Belle did not contribute to creating dangerous sea conditions during the incident.

During a pre-inquest review, coroner Rachael Griffin said that the Dorset Belle was not a factor in their deaths.

She said: “I have ruled out the involvement of the Dorset Belle and it being a causative and contributory factor in Joe and Sunnah’s death.

“It would be speculative to link that boat to the deaths but also it’s important that within the evidence there may be reference to previous incidents.

“There is no evidence that the boat was previously involved in previous incidents, again that is speculative to say it was.”

Harriet Short, representing Joe’s family, added: “Mrs Abbess wishes to record in open court her gratitude to the emergency services, South West Ambulance Service, the air ambulance and the RNLI, who attended for her son on that tragic day.”

Ms Griffin said: “It’s clear to me how many lives were affected that day from the incident that arose that day and led to the deaths of Joe and Sunnah.”

A previous hearing was told that a rip current tide had led to the deaths of the two youngsters.

The full inquest into their deaths is to start on Tuesday.