The latest child to die after getting into difficulty in water was a 14-year-old boy who, though was pulled from the River Thames at Millwall Outer Dock, lost his life on Monday
Nine people have drowned – including four children – since schools broke up for the summer holidays, distressing new figures show.
A 14-year-old died after getting into difficulty in the River Thames at Millwall Outer Dock, east London on Monday, with locals saying the area had been frequented by youths in the past few weeks to cool off in the heat.
Police searched the area for almost four hours before pulling the boy’s body from the river. A 14-year-old girl who laid flowers at the scene with her mum on Tuesday tearfully told the Mirror that she and other people at the scene attempted to save the boy.
The teenager said: “A few of them jumped in together but one of the boys didn’t come up. I had to try and save him, a few people jumped in, they were all around my age.
“We thought it was a joke, someone said ‘he’s pranking you’ then they started crying, so I was like this is real.”
A total of 42 people have died in open water since the first spell of hot weather in mid-May. Tributes have been paid to five-year-old Letti Cole, who died after being found unconscious in a body of water in Badsey, Worcestershire last week.
Hayley Cole, Letti’s aunt, said: “Our family is completely heartbroken, devastated, and still in shock. No family should ever have to go through such an unimaginable loss.”
Two children – Samiha Rahman, 15, and her seven-year-old cousin Musa Ahmed – also lost their lives in a triple drowning at Mersea Island, Essex on July 22.
And an inquest into the double tragedy at Fistral Beach, Cornwall, on July 26, heard yesterday that father John Collins, 66, leapt into the sea to try and save 32-year-old daughter Samantha Collins before both drowned.
The Mirror has launched the Save Lives For Sam water safety campaign this summer to call for urgent action to tackle Britain’s drowning crisis. Andy Burnham backed this last week, saying: “I give great credit to The Mirror, so often a campaigning newspaper, but rightly so on this issue… It’s really important that people understand the dangers of open water swimming, particularly if people are not regular swimmers, it can cause real issues.
“Water safety measures around is part of it. It’s also about making sure, as part of the curriculum, kids get the right swimming support, and that’s I think a key part of the campaign.”