The bodies of five men who died at sea at Camber Sands last week were formerly identified by the police yesterday as that of a group of five British Tamil men who had been childhood friends.
"Kenugen Saththiyanathan, 18, and his brother Kobikanthan Saththiyanathan, 22 both of Normandy Way, Erith and their friends Nitharsan Ravi, 22 of Admaston Road, Plumstead, Inthushan Sriskantharasa, 23 of Chadwell Road, Grays and Gurushanth Srithavarajah, 27 of Elsa Road, Welling," Sussex police said on Friday, adding that the deaths had been referred to the coroner.
Mr Saththiyananthan, father of brothers Kenigan and Kobikanthan, mourned the loss of his sons and highlighted the lack of lifeguards at the beach that day.
"I brought my children from Sri Lanka because it is not safe back there. I thought it would be safe in Britain," he told the Daily Mail newspaper.
The victims had all grown up in the UK after their families fled Sri Lanka due to the persecution of Tamils. Four of the victims were permanent residents of the UK and one was a British citizens.
The tragedy happened on the hottest day of the year as the popular beach was packed with over 25,000 visitors.
Whilst it remains unclear exactly how the men got into difficulty it is believed that three of the men ran into the water to try to save two that had already become stuck in quicksand and caught in a rip current.
The tragic deaths have led to widespread tributes from their family, friends and wider Tamil community within which they were deeply rooted, playing for local teams and campaigning strongly against the atrocities committed against Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Brighton Students' Union issued a statement, mourning the loss of the men, particularly Nitharshan who was studying aeronautical engineering at the university and Kobikanthan who was alumni.
"This news is incredibly sad and devastating. Both Kobikanthan and Nitharsan will be sadly missed. Nitharsan was returning to study Aeronautical Engineering and Kobikanthan also studied at UoB. This is a difficult time, and we wish to offer support and advice to any students affected by this, and to express our condolences to the family and friends under these tragic circumstances" Cat Bach, the vice president campus development of the students union said.
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| Nitharsan Ravi | Kobikanthan Saththiyanathan |
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| Kenugen Saththiyanathan | |
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| Kurushanth Srithavarajah | Inthushan Sriskantharasa |