Boy, 15, drowned after jumping off pier in South Wales, coroner concludes
David Chiaka Ejimofor died on 19 June 2023 after jumping into the sea from the breakwater in Aberavon, Neath Port Talbot, shortly after 7pm.
Coroner Edward Ramsay said there had been a "lack of effective deterrents on the day in question" to prevent David from jumping in.
"I have no idea if he saw the signage stating no access," the coroner said.
"Secondly, even if he did, there was no physical barrier deterring entry."
Mr Ramsay said that had a lifeguard been on duty at the time, it was possible David "would not have jumped and therefore not have drowned".
David had received swimming lessons in the past, the inquest heard, and his mother Maria Ejimofor described him as a "cautious" swimmer.
Internet searches on David's phone suggested he was "anticipating going swimming later that day" but he had expressed "some caution about jumping", the inquest heard.
Mr Ramsay said the breakwater "should not have been used" for jumping into the sea but there was "effectively unrestricted and undeterred access".
1:10
Upon entering the water, David "very sadly found himself in immediate difficulty", the coroner said.
"This was because whilst he had swam, and could swim, his swimming ability was not good," he added.
Despite the "frantic efforts" of David's friends, his swimming ability "was not sufficient to keep him afloat", Mr Ramsay said.
The coroner formally recognised the efforts of paddleboarding off-duty police officer Tyler Rowland, who helped get David to shore, and the members of the public who delivered CPR.
Despite their efforts, and that of the emergency services, David was declared dead at the scene at 8.05pm.
Mr Ramsay expressed his sympathy to David's family and said he would issue a prevention of future deaths report at a later date.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
10 hours ago
- Telegraph
Steer clear of dolphin ‘targeting women in wetsuits', swimmers warned
A dolphin that appears to be 'targeting women in wetsuits' could be dangerous to humans, experts have warned. The animal, which has been named Reggie, was first spotted joining swimmers in Lyme Bay, Dorset, for an early morning dip on August 3 and its presence has attracted crowds of people to the area. But experts say that Reggie, which appears to be living on its own, could snap and turn aggressive amid all the attention, which could also be a danger to its own safety. It has already been photographed with gashes that were seemingly caused by a boat's propeller. Kayaker Rhys Paterson, 32, said he was forced to intervene after the dolphin began jumping on a woman, pushing her head repeatedly under the water. Footage showed the swimmer saying: 'It scared me to death – oh my goodness!' before being pushed under the waves on Aug 14. Mr Paterson, a development director from Lyme Regis, said the filmed incident was not the only confrontation, and the dolphin appeared to be 'targeting women in wetsuits'. 'We saved two swimmers who were fairly deep, where the dolphin kept jumping on them,' he added. 'The dolphin was basically drowning this woman – it kind of jumped on her back four times. 'We had been following the dolphin for a little bit, because obviously, it's quite a local legend at the minute. 'But when we realised it wasn't playing, it was quite a big shock. People need to understand that it's not an amusement arcade. It's a wild animal. It can snap all of a sudden.' 'Multiple potential offences' observed The Marine Management Organisation, a government quango, said: 'We're increasingly concerned about a lone dolphin spotted in Lyme Bay following multiple potential marine wildlife disturbance offences observed online and shared on social media. 'Please remember – never swim with, touch, feed, or approach dolphins. If a dolphin approaches you, calmly leave the area. 'Human interaction can cause dolphins to lose their natural wariness, leading to injury or even death. Disturbed dolphins are also known to become aggressive toward people.' However, some holidaymakers are ignoring the warnings, and videos posted online show paddleboarders floating close to the dolphin. 'Leave the poor thing alone' One social media user commented: 'We went down last night and watched from the shore. We were shocked to see so many paddleboarders out there (around 20) and they were all following the dolphin and not leaving him alone. 'Yes it's magical for everyone to be up close but seriously have a word with yourselves. Leave the poor thing alone.' Lucy Babey, the director of programmes at Orca, a marine conservation charity, told The Telegraph: 'This is a wild animal and a large, robust animal. Interacting with the dolphin could result in serious injuries to both people and the dolphin.' Bottlenose dolphins are native to British shores, can reach up to 13ft in length and typically weigh around 500kg. It is illegal to intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or disturb dolphins, whales and porpoises under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Approaching or recklessly disturbing a dolphin can result in a prison sentence of up to six months and an unlimited fine.
BBC News
16 hours ago
- BBC News
Questions over 999 call handling of Swansea boy's river death
Questions about 999 call handler training to locate serious incidents more quickly have been raised by the family of a 13-year-old boy who died while swimming in a river, an inquest has Edwards's body was found trapped underwater by a tree after he got into difficulty in the River Tawe just outside Swansea Enterprise Park in May a "frantic" 45-minute search, the "extremely fast-running" and "murky" water made it impossible to save the inquest in Swansea on Tuesday, the family also questioned why the nearest lifebuoy was a 20-minute walk away from where Kane died. On Monday the court heard Kane's post-mortem examination confirmed he had died from drowning after going into freezing water at a river with rock weirs and deep pools, where he became trapped by the current. During the hearing, Welsh Ambulance Service call handler Hannah Stanley said locating the incident was difficult as the what3words app failed, though her call handling met required standards. Coroner Edward Ramsay also questioned the service manager of the Welsh Ambulance Service Andrew Garner and asked if "valuable time had been lost" in establishing the location of the Garner said the ambulance service discussed the incident but found no full report needed, after a passer-by gave the wrong-side-of-the-river address due to the app explained how a location automatically identified by the ambulance service's computer system was then used with 95% accuracy, but no manual alert was sent to responders. On Monday, questions were also raised about revisiting the location 15 minutes into the 999 came after what the coroner described as other "important" questions, but not as important as "identifying the precise location".Mr Garner said the computer system was "designed to ask the most pertinent questions". On Tuesday, Mr Garner told the family call handler training had been improved so automatic location systems were now used first before asking callers for more detail. The court heard neither Kane's friend, who was swimming with him, nor the police could initially provide a precise location, until the boy suggested a suitable spot for emergency services to park on the correct side of the River Tawe. Mr Garner said crews were dispatched to a nearby point, with the location "updated en route" as more accurate information came in. He explained call handlers must follow set prompts in order, and skipping them would have delayed the dispatch of the specialist Hazardous Area Response Team (HART). He stressed the "fine tuning" of the location did not affect HART's response time from Bridgend. The inquest also heard from Swansea Council's Water Safety Manager, Andrew Suter, who said there had been no previous incidents at the site before Kane's death. Since then, the area has been risk assessed, with warning signs put up along the river, a lifebuoy placed at a fishing platform upstream, and plans to plant hawthorn bushes near the weirs to deter swimmers. But Kane's family said children were still swimming there and questioned why no lifebuoy had been installed at the exact spot where he died. Mr Suter said a lifebuoy could give a false sense of security, but agreed to reassess the site when pressed by the inquest continues.
The Sun
17 hours ago
- The Sun
I saw kaleidoscopic light before going permanently blind after taking free shots in Laos that killed 6
A BRITISH backpacker who went blind after drinking methanol-laced shots in Laos described seeing a "kaleidoscopic light" before his vision went black. Calum Macdonald, 23, stopped off in the popular tourist destination of Vang Vieng in Laos during his first solo trip abroad last year. 9 9 9 He became a victim of methanol poisoning after being given free shots of vodka and whiskey at the Nana Backpacker Hostel. Several travellers were hospitalised and six people died after unknowingly drinking contaminated alcohol in November last year - including Simone White, 28, a lawyer from Orpington in South East London. Calum met two of the victims of the mass poisoning - Annie-Sofie Orklid Coyman and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, both from Denmark - on a night out. The 23-year-old was left permanently blind after ingesting methanol, a chemical found in dodgy booze that turns toxic in the body. He is now speaking out about his story for the first time. Calum was with friends at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in November 2024, he told BBC Breakfast. Free whisky and vodka shots were offered to guests and Calum mixed his with soft drinks. He began to suspect something was seriously wrong the next day when he stepped off an overnight bus at the Vietnamese border. Calum realised he couldn't read any of the administrative forms in front of him. Instead, all he could see was a "kaleidoscopic blinding light". I survived Laos alcohol poisoning that killed my pal Simone White & 5 others - I felt paralysed after drinking six shots Calum told his friends about it and they initially thought he might be suffering from food poisoning. "I remember having this sort of kaleidoscopic, blinding light in my eyes and to the point at which I couldn't see anything,' he told BBC Breakfast. "[We agreed] it was strange but we thought it was food poisoning and the light I was seeing was some kind of sensitivity.' But things further escalated when the group got to their hotel in Vietnam. 9 9 9 "We were sitting in the hotel room, my friends and I, and I said to them: 'Why are we sitting in the dark? Someone should turn a light on'," Calum recalled. The lights were already on. Methanol is a type of alcohol commonly found in cleaning products, fuel and antifreeze. It's similar to ethanol, which is used for alcoholic drinks, but is more toxic to humans because it turns to formic acid when processed by the body. Even a tiny amount can mess with your system, causing vision problems, permanent damage to your central nervous system, or, in extreme cases, death. Because it is tasteless and has only a faint smell, it is impossible to tell if a drink has methanol in it. Why is methanol so deadly? By Sam Blanchard, Health Correspondent Methanol is a super-toxic version of alcohol that may be present in drinks if added by crooks to make them stronger or if they are brewed or distilled badly. The consequences can be devastating because as little as a single shot of contaminated booze could be deadly, with just 4ml of methanol potentially enough to cause blindness. Prof Oliver Jones, a chemist at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, said: 'The body converts methanol to formic acid. 'Formic acid blocks the action of an enzyme that is critical to how the body uses oxygen to generate energy. 'If it stops working, cells cannot take up or use oxygen from the blood and lack of oxygen causes problems in a range of organs as the cells start to die. 'Symptoms of methanol poisoning include vomiting, seizures and dizziness. 'The optic nerve seems to be particularly vulnerable to methanol toxicity, so there is the potential for temporary or permanent blindness, and even death. 'While thankfully rare, methanol poisoning is very serious, and treatment should be given at a hospital.' Booze can become contaminated with methanol if it is manufactured poorly. The chemical is also sometimes used in counterfeit or homemade alcohol to cut costs, which means it's most likely to show up in shady local spirits or cheap cocktails, Travel Aware says. Methanol poisoning is a known problem with cheap spirits in South East Asia where hundreds of people are poisoned each year, according to the charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF). As little as 30ml of methanol can be fatal to humans, but poisoning can be treated if caught 10 to 30 hours after consuming dodgy booze. Simone also stayed and drank at the Nana Backpacker Hostel the day after Calum left. After waking up lethargic and nauseous, the 28-year-old was rushed to hospital by fellow travellers in a near paralytic state. Simone suffered seizures and could no longer breathe on her own, so she was placed on life support. She died in hospital nine days after consuming free vodka shots, from a bleed in her brain caused by methanol poisoning. Two Danish women also died after drinking at the hostel, whom Calum had met. 9 9 He said learning of their deaths changed his perspective on his blindness. "Part of the way that I [had] dealt with it was to bury my head in the sand," he told the BBC. "I did really feel like, in many ways, my life wasn't worth living. "[The deaths] made me realise that I was very lucky and I felt very grateful that, although I had some difficult consequences, a lot of people did have it worse. "I felt, given that I was lucky enough to survive, I have a bit of a responsibility to try and prevent the same thing from happening to other people." Calum is now learning to use a cane and hopes to apply for a guide dog soon. He is working with the families of three other British people who died following methanol poisoning in South East Asia. They are calling on the Foreign Office to be clearer about the dangers people face when booking holidays in countries where methanol poisoning is a concern. The Foreign Office described methanol poisoning and counterfeit alcohol as a "serious problem in some parts of the world" and said it was working with local authorities and the travel industry to tackle the issue. "We seek to make clear the risks to British people travelling abroad and we raise awareness through our travel advice and Travel Aware campaign." Signs of methanol poisoning Spotting methanol poisoning can be tricky because at first, it can feel like regular alcohol poisoning. But there are key differences to watch for: Early signs: You might feel confused, dizzy, extremely tired, or even start throwing up. Serious symptoms appear 12-48 hours after drinking, so be vigilant even the day after. Headaches, nausea, seizures, or even slipping into a coma are common symptoms. Basically, if you're feeling very drunk, out of proportion to how much you've had to drink, get help ASAP. Vision issues can also appear 12-48 hours after the first drink. Methanol poisoning can cause blurry vision, trouble looking at bright lights, and even complete blindness. If you have 'snowfield vision' (seeing snowy static like an old TV) or tunnel vision, that's a red flag. If you or anyone you're with starts to show any of these signs, call or visit the local hospital immediately. It could save your life or prevent serious complications How to reduce the risk of methanol poisoning Methanol has a faint smell and is tasteless, so it can be hard to know if your drink has been contaminated. So here are a few tips to keep you and your mates safe: Stick to licensed places. Only buy your drinks from proper bars, reputable hotels or licenced shops. Avoid homemade booze. Local spirits or homemade vodka might seem fun and adventurous, but they're high-risk. Check your bottles. Seals should be intact, and labels should look legit (no misspellings or dodgy print). Be cautious about cocktails. Stick to sealed or bottled drinks. Pre-mixed cocktails and 'buckets' (cheap mixed drinks served in plastic containers) in touristy areas can be a gamble. Source: Travel Aware
