The mother of a 12-year-old girl who drowned off Bournemouth beach two weeks ago has revealed the heartbreaking moment she was told her ‘cheeky’ and ‘beautiful’ daughter had died.
Sunnah Khan from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, died after being pulled under the water by a riptide close to the shore near Bournemouth pier.
She and Joe Abbess, 17, were pulled from the water and medics desperately tried to resuscitate them on the sand, but both sadly died.
Now Sunnah’s mother, Stephanie Williams, has spoken out to warn people of the dangers of riptides, and revealed the devastating moment she found out her little girl’s life had been claimed.
Stephanie was about to leave work at around 7pm on Wednesday, May 31, when she got a phone call from Sunnah’s dad telling her the news which is every parents worst nightmare.
Sunnah Khan’s mother, Stephanie Williams, has spoken out to warn people of the dangers of riptides
Police in the area of Bournemouth Beach where Sunnah and Joe Abess, 17, tragically lost their lives at the end of last month
‘He sounded upset and I thought he was talking to the children when he asked me to sit down,’ she told ITV Meridian.
‘He told me we’ve lost Sunnah, but I didn’t really understand what he meant – I didn’t realise he meant that she had died.
‘I went straight from work to Bournemouth where I got to see her. It’s two and a half hours from here to there, it was a really hard drive’.
Paying tribute to her young daughter, Stephanie said: ‘Sunnah was very cheeky, very talkative and confident. She was very protective of her family – proud of her mixed heritage.
‘She was just loved by everyone. She had friends in places I didn’t even realise.
‘When we turned her phone back on she had more than two thousand messages. She loved TikTok, she loved Snapchat.
‘She was just lovely – beautiful not just on the outside but on the inside as well.’
While Sunnah was the younger sibling, Stephanie said, she would always take care of her brother. She also described her as a sociable girl who loved spending time with friends and family.
Sunnah Khan was pictured laughing on Bournemouth beach shortly before tragedy struck
Sunnah was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition along with a 17-year-old boy. Both later died
‘She was a lovely toddler and a lovely young child at all stages of her life, and she would have become a lovely woman.
‘She cared about a lot of people, and it’s such a shame that she’s not going to become the young lady that I thought she would be.’
After news of her death broke, tributes poured in for the schoolgirl, who a friend described as ‘an angel’.
A friend said: ‘She will be missed by everyone, she was very popular and her death will leave a hole that will be impossible to fill.
‘She had so much more to look forward to. She was an angel.’
A family member said: ‘She was an absolute force of nature, liked by all and loved by so many.
‘She will be so sorely missed by her parents, siblings and friends.’
Now Stephanie wants to raise awareness around how easy it can be to get into trouble in the sea, as her daughter did along with a number of other swimmers on that tragic day.
She said she would not wish the pain she has experienced on anyone and is now planning to campaign to make water safety advice clearer.
Bournemouth is an lifeguard-patrolled beach and Sunnah was swimming in between the flags when she and others got into difficulty.
‘They weren’t even in deep water, they were in shallow water, so anything I can do to reduce the number of times it happens. One person is too many,’ Stephanie said.
She praised the RNLI’s Float to Survive campaign but said more needs to be done so information is available on the beach in the hope that it might prevent even one tragedy.
Stephanie also paid tribute to the emergency workers who fought to save Sunnah’s life, saying she couldn’t imagine how traumatic it would have been to witness the youngster’s death.
‘I would like to say thank you to those people.
‘I find it comforting to know that they made such an effort. I’m grateful to everybody who played a part in that day.’
