Rescue practices changed after beach deaths, inquest hears
Changes have been made to search and rescue procedures following the deaths of two children in the sea off Bournemouth beach, an inquest has heard.
Joe Abbess, 17, from Southampton, and 12-year-old Sunnah Khan, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, died after getting into trouble in the water off Bournemouth Beach in May 2023.
HM Coastguard aeronautical and maritime operations manager Sam Shepherd said a review had since made 14 recommendations over communication and managing major emergency incidents.
He said none of the findings were over issues which could have caused or contributed to the two deaths.
A previous hearing was told a rip current had led to the deaths of the two youngsters, with eight other people needing treatment by paramedics on the afternoon of 31 May 2023.
Giving evidence, Mr Shepherd gave a timeline of how events unfolded with the coastguard co-ordinating the actions of ambulance, lifeguards and police.
Two coastal rescue teams were dispatched, along with two lifeboats and a coastguard helicopter.
He said a139-page "detailed incident review" had examined issues as part of a "learning process" and was "not apportioning blame".
It highlighted information was not passed from South West Ambulance Service to the coastguard in the appropriate format that would avoid "miscommunication and misunderstanding" in declaring a major incident, he said.
Mr Shepherd told the inquest there had been "internal confusion about declaring a major incident", but insisted that "it didn't change our response in any shape or form".
He also said the search and rescue operation had been restarted after both Joe and Sunnah had been found, due to "further confusion" in communication between emergency services.
Mr Shepherd told the inquest there had been debriefing sessions held within the coastguard as well as "collaborative learning" sessions with police, ambulance and lifeguards.
The review also noted there had been an "unprofessional conversation" between the coastguard and the RAF.
The individual involved admitted an "error of judgement" during a debrief, Mr Shepherd told the inquest.
He said coastguard personnel operate "under extreme pressure" during such fast-moving situations.
"With the speed of information coming in, it can very quickly become chaotic," he said.
He added the recommendations of the review should not be seen as "failures".
"None of these impacted the actions and responses of HM Coastguard," he told the hearing.
The inquest continues.
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