The victims of the Bournemouth beach tragedy died by drowning, a coroner has heard. 

Sunnah Khan, 12, and Joe Abbess, 17, lost their lives after they and eight others got into difficulty in the water on Wednesday.

Police are investigating whether the wash from the propeller of the Dorset Belle pleasure cruiser may have contributed to the incident.

An inquest opening in Bournemouth heard that the pair had died of drowning, amid speculation they got caught in a riptide.

The inquests into the deaths of Khan, from High Wycombe, and Abbess, from Southampton, were formally opened and adjourned by the coroner on Monday.

Nicola Muller, the coroner’s assistant, confirmed reports of a sudden riptide in the sea at the time of the tragedy.