Three family members die after sea incident off Shoreham-by-Sea
A man, woman and their teenage daughter died after a family of four got into difficulty in the sea off Shoreham-by-Sea; a younger girl remains critically ill.
In short
- A man, woman and their teenage daughter died after a family of four got into difficulty in the sea off Shoreham-by-Sea; a younger girl remains critically ill.
Three members of a family died and a fourth was critically injured after they got into difficulty while swimming off Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, police said.
Sussex Police Chief Superintendent James Collis said a man, a woman and their teenage daughter died following the incident. A younger girl from the same family was taken to hospital in critical condition. Their next of kin have been informed.
Emergency services were called at about 2:40 p.m. after reports that four people were in difficulty in the sea. Land and air ambulances joined the response, and all four were brought to shore.
Police said the family is understood to have entered the water from land for a swim before encountering difficulty. The coastguard was not searching for anyone else after the rescue operation.
Authorities asked anyone with information or video footage of the incident to contact Sussex Police. No further details about the victims were released.
