A 15-year-old girl and her mother died on an Essex beach while trying to save a seven-year-old boy from the water. The boy, a relative, remains on life support in a London hospital. Samiha Rahman and her mother, Shalina Rahman, were on a summer holiday trip to West Mersea when, according to police, they were caught by a heavy incoming tide. The tragedy has sparked a national campaign for compulsory water-safety lessons in schools.
The incident happened on Wednesday 22 July 2026 near Seaview Avenue in West Mersea, Colchester. The family were from London and described as British-Bangladeshi. Police believe the mother and daughter were trying to help the seven-year-old boy, who had got into difficulty. All those involved were related. Despite the efforts of emergency services, including an air ambulance and the RNLI, the mother and daughter could not be resuscitated. The boy is in a critical condition. A family friend said the mother and teenage girl “were not very good swimmers”.
“Why the deaths of Samiha Rahman and her mother highlight the need for compulsory water-safety lessons to address drowning inequalities.”
The deaths have highlighted a long-standing inequality in drowning risk in the UK. According to a campaign launched by the Daily Mirror, children from African, Caribbean and Asian backgrounds are three-and-a-half times more likely to drown than white British children. The reasons are complex but include lack of access to affordable swimming lessons, cultural attitudes to water, and a lower likelihood of being taught basic survival skills. Many families, particularly those in deprived urban areas, simply cannot afford regular swimming lessons or live near pools. For some communities, swimming is not seen as a necessary life skill.
For UK readers, this issue has direct, practical consequences. The UK has thousands of miles of coastline, plus rivers, lakes and canals. Drownings are not rare – more than 400 people die accidentally in UK waters each year. Many of these deaths are preventable with basic water-safety knowledge, such as knowing how to float or what to do in a rip current. The Mirror’s “Save Lives for Sam” campaign is demanding that water-safety lessons be made compulsory in all UK schools, alongside a national awareness drive and proper rescue equipment at dangerous waters. They are also calling for “Sam’s Law” to make these protections permanent.
Q: How common are drownings in the UK? Around 400 people die from accidental drowning in the UK each year, according to publicly available figures. Hundreds more are rescued. Drowning is a leading cause of accidental death for children.
Q: Why are children from ethnic minorities at higher risk of drowning? Research shows that children from African, Caribbean and Asian backgrounds are three-and-a-half times more likely to drown. Contributing factors include lack of access to swimming lessons (often due to cost or location), cultural norms, and less exposure to water safety education.
Q: What is “Sam’s Law”? Sam’s Law is a proposed set of legal protections, named after Samiha Rahman, that would make compulsory water-safety lessons in UK schools, fund a national awareness campaign, and require rescue equipment at high-risk water locations. The campaign is being run by the Daily Mirror.
The next steps depend on public pressure and political will. The Mirror campaign, supported by the Rahman family, is pushing for a change in the national curriculum. Several MPs have voiced support, and the prime minister, Andy Burnham, called the deaths “very sad” and thanked emergency services. No formal government response on compulsory lessons has been announced yet. The family continues to grieve, and the seven-year-old boy remains in hospital.