A teenage boy has died while open water swimming, becoming the tenth person to lose their life during Britain's ongoing heatwave. Emergency services were called to a pond near Galley Hill Road in Swanscombe yesterday, where the body of a teenage boy was recovered from the water. This marks the tenth suspected drowning during the current heatwave, with eight young people among the victims.
Victims of the Heatwave
The youngest victim is 12-year-old Junior Slater, who died after getting into difficulty in the River Ribble in Lancashire on Tuesday. A man in his 60s and a woman in her 70s have also died. The Royal Life Saving Society has issued warnings that despite the hot air temperatures, the water remains dangerously cold, increasing the risk of cold water shock which can impair swimming ability and make it difficult to exit the water.
List of Confirmed Drowning Deaths
- Declan Sawyer, 15, found dead on Sunday at Swanholme Lakes in Lincoln.
- A 72-year-old woman pulled from the water at West Angle Bay beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
- Abbie Carmody-Pepper, 15, pulled from the water at Burrow Beach in County Dublin.
- Reco Puttock, 13, died after being pulled from the Leadbeater Dam in Halifax, West Yorkshire on Bank Holiday Monday.
- Lillianna Tomlinson, believed to be 16, pulled from the water in Kingsbury Water Park, Warwickshire.
- A teenage boy pulled from a lake in Rother Valley Country Park in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
- A man in his 60s died after running into the sea to help two relatives at Tregirls Beach near Padstow, Cornwall.
- Junior Slater, 12, died after getting into difficulty in the River Ribble in Lancashire on Tuesday.
- A 17-year-old boy went missing while swimming at Pickmere Lake in Cheshire; his body was found on Wednesday.
- Another teenage boy's body was recovered at Hawley Lake near Farnborough.
The recent spate of drownings has prompted urgent warnings from authorities about the dangers of open water swimming, especially during periods of hot weather when people may underestimate the cold water temperatures.
