Latest news with #Gravesend
The Sun
6 hours ago
- General
- The Sun
‘Beautiful' girl, 9, died after she ‘slipped & fell into Thames playing with cousin' as heartbreaking tributes paid
THE heartbroken family of a nine-year-old girl who died after entering the River Thames have paid tribute to their "beautiful angel". Emergency services had been frantically searching for the child who disappeared under the water by the Royal Terrace Pier, in Gravesend, Kent on May 30. 2 She has now been named on social media as 'Bia' and is understood to have been just nine years old. The alarm was raised at about 1:45pm yesterday after two children got into difficulty in the river. It is understood Bia was playing with her cousin near the water when she slipped and the current pulled her in. A young boy was quickly recovered whilst an urgent rescue operation was carried out for Bia. Devastated members of her family, reportedly from Romania, say she "had her whole life ahead of her" but "but she had the life that was decided by God". Last night, relative Mirela Turcanu posted on social media: "Oh, she left us speechless, this little girl had her whole life ahead of her, but she had the life that was decided by God. "Smooth road to heaven, my niece." Leon Alkapone described her as "my niece, my beautiful angel". Another post said: "Rest In Peace, Little Angel, Bia. May God comfort the grieving family." At 11.40am on Saturday, a body was recovered from the river, near Gravesend and formal identification by the girl's next of kin took place. Police say the death is not being treated as suspicious at this stage and a report will be prepared for the coroner. It is understood Bia was playing with her cousin near the water when she slipped and the current pulled her in. The boy saved from the water during the initial search remains at a local hospital in a stable condition. Police say the death is not being treated as suspicious at this stage and a report will be prepared for the coroner. A police helicopter and South East Coast Ambulance Service were also sent to the scene. Kent Police was called by the Port of London Authority.
BBC News
7 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Residents bid to unseat 'terrible' Springhead Parkway managers
Residents are looking to remove their estate's management company as they claim they are charged "more and more for less".Homeowners at the Springhead Parkway estate in Gravesend are collecting petition signatures opposing FirstPort, the firm responsible for the area's public 50% of fellow residents sign the petition they can take over management of the area themselves under the 'right to manage', according to the Local Democracy Reporting said it does everything it can to keep costs low "whilst not compromising on the service we provide". Construction on the estate of nearly 800 homes, part of the Ebbsfleet Garden City development area, started in Vistry Group currently contracts FirstPort to maintain the area's public Johnson said "everything was ok" when he moved to the estate three years ago, but now "the maintenance of our public areas is terrible".FirstPort "always paint a sunny picture", he added, but "there's litter and dog mess that's not being collected in the parks" and broken playground equipment "that have not been fixed for over a year now".His partner, Ashley Wilson, said that the couple now avoid taking their young son to the park. The couple claim they have had to pay £2,500 of unjustified FirstPort charges since moving in, including a surprise £600 "maintenance adjustment" fee in November."When we called there was no explanation as to why these charges were being put forward; they were giving no evidence, and they were being quite threatening as well," Mr Johnson are "paying more and more money for what seems to be less work", he added. A FirstPort spokesperson said: "The service charge is not a source of revenue for property managers. It is allocated to cover actual expenses incurred to ensure the smooth running of the property." The MP for Gravesham, Dr Lauren Sullivan, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she supporting residents' calls to replace FirstPort, but the matter is complicated by some parts of the estate having different management said: "FirstPort has been plaguing communities and new housing communities across the country, and I've joined together with fellow MPs to write a letter summoning them to Parliament to explain what they're doing." Vistry Group declined to comment.
Sky News
20 hours ago
- General
- Sky News
Man describes rescuing boy from Thames at Gravesend - after body found in search for missing girl
A man has described how he rescued a boy from the River Thames - after a body was found in the search for a girl who went missing during the same incident. George Karnovski says he pulled what he said was an "11-year-old" boy out of the river after he got into difficulty near the Royal Terrace Pier in Gravesend in Kent. He said once he had the child on a buoy, he was "just screaming" as he struggled in the water. Kent Police and the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) recovered the body of the missing girl at around 11.40am on Saturday. Witnesses suggest she was the boy's younger sister. Formal identification by the girl's next of kin has taken place, and the death is not being treated as suspicious, police said. Emergency services were called on Friday afternoon after concerns were raised for the two children who had entered the river at nearby Royal Pier Road. Mr Karnvoski said: "At the same time as pulling him out, I was looking around, like, where is she, where is she? "I'm shouting, saying 'there's one more, there's one more'. I'm looking around, [but] for love nor money, I cannot see the little girl." Mr Karnovski, 37, who is a member of the RAF, had been visiting his family who live in the town. He said they had been out on a walk when they heard that children were in trouble in the water, which he said had "a strong current". His brother Jack, who lives in the area, said he had seen his wife "scream, and point at the river. I assumed it was my children. I went running and shouted to my brother". The pair discovered there was only one life ring, and so only George, who said he had previously had lifeguard training, could enter the water for safety reasons. Jack said that when George jumped in, he "said he never felt the bottom. We had to run down the jetty because the tide was running up". "The jetty is quite long. By the time you ran down it, it was deep water," he added. George said the conditions in the water at the time were "tough", even for an experienced adult swimmer. By the time he entered the water, he says the children were about 40 to 50 metres (131 to 164 feet) away, and it took him about two minutes to get to them. "I started swimming. I went quite hard to begin with, but then started running out of steam," he said. Jack, who was on the pier directing George in his efforts to rescue the children, said the children were travelling quickly with the strength of the water. "In terms of the current, they'd fallen off the jetty. They were about 50 metres away, going towards London. By the time my brother had caught up with them, I'd say he was 150 to 200 metres (492 to 656 feet) away. So that gives you an idea. In a couple of minutes, they'd gone 100m (328 feet) or more down the Thames," he said. The brothers said other organisations helped the rescue efforts, including the RNLI and the London Port Authority (LPA). The LPA said in a statement they "are continuing to support police with their inquiries into exactly what happened, and where and how the children entered the water. It is so sad and the thoughts of the whole of the LPA are with their loved ones".
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Man describes rescuing boy from Thames at Gravesend - after body found in search for missing girl
A man has described how he rescued a boy from the River Thames - after a body was found in the search for a girl who went missing during the same incident. George Karnovski says he pulled what he said was an "11-year-old" boy out of the river after he got into difficulty near the Royal Terrace Pier in Gravesend in Kent. He said once he had the child on a buoy, he was "just screaming" as he struggled in the water. Kent Police and the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) recovered the body of the missing girl at around 11.40am on Saturday. Witnesses suggest she was the boy's younger sister. Formal identification by the girl's next of kin has taken place, and the death is not being treated as suspicious, police said. Emergency services were called on Friday afternoon after concerns were raised for the two children who had entered the river at nearby Royal Pier Road. Mr Karnvoski said: "At the same time as pulling him out, I was looking around, like, where is she, where is she? "I'm shouting, saying 'there's one more, there's one more'. I'm looking around, [but] for love nor money, I cannot see the little girl." Mr Karnovski, 37, who is a member of the RAF, had been visiting his family who live in the town. He said they had been out on a walk when they heard that children were in trouble in the water, which he said had "a strong current". His brother Jack, who lives in the area, said he had seen his wife "scream, and point at the river. I assumed it was my children. I went running and shouted to my brother". The pair discovered there was only one life ring, and so only George, who said he had previously had lifeguard training, could enter the water for safety reasons. Jack said that when George jumped in, he "said he never felt the bottom. We had to run down the jetty because the tide was running up". "The jetty is quite long. By the time you ran down it, it was deep water," he added. George said the conditions in the water at the time were "tough", even for an experienced adult swimmer. By the time he entered the water, he says the children were about 40 to 50 metres (131 to 164 feet) away, and it took him about two minutes to get to them. "I started swimming. I went quite hard to begin with, but then started running out of steam," he said. Read more on Sky News:Two dead in violence after finalBritain 'has lost control of borders'Two Britons shot dead in Spain Jack, who was on the pier directing George in his efforts to rescue the children, said the children were travelling quickly with the strength of the water. "In terms of the current, they'd fallen off the jetty. They were about 50 metres away, going towards London. By the time my brother had caught up with them, I'd say he was 150 to 200 metres (492 to 656 feet) away. So that gives you an idea. In a couple of minutes, they'd gone 100m (328 feet) or more down the Thames," he said. The brothers said other organisations helped the rescue efforts, including the RNLI and the London Port Authority (LPA). The LPA said in a statement they "are continuing to support police with their inquiries into exactly what happened, and where and how the children entered the water. It is so sad and the thoughts of the whole of the LPA are with their loved ones".
Daily Mail
a day ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Heartbroken family pay tribute to 'beautiful' girl, nine, who died after entering the River Thames
The heartbroken family of a nine-year-old girl who died after entering the River Thames have paid tribute to their 'beautiful angel'. The tragic youngster, named on social media as 'Bia', died after entering the water at the Royal Pier Road in Gravesend, Kent, at around 1.40pm on Friday. Kent Police said her body was recovered from the river yesterday morning, after a search by police's marine units, the coastguard helicopter and lifeboats. Devastated members of her family said she 'had her whole life ahead of her' but 'she had the life that was decided by God'. Relative Mirela Turcanu posted on social media: 'Oh, she left us speechless, this little girl had her whole life ahead of her, but she had the life that was decided by God. 'Smooth road to heaven, my niece.' Leon Alkapone described her as 'my niece, my beautiful angel'. Another post said: 'Rest In Peace, Little Angel, Bia. May God comfort the grieving family.' Emergency services were called to the Royal Terrace Pier in Gravesend at 1.46pm on Friday. Two children, a boy and a girl, had got into difficulty in the water but the boy - believed to be seven - was later pulled from the river. At 11.40am on Saturday, a body was recovered from the river near Gravesend and formal identification by the girl's next of kin took place. Police said the death is not being treated as suspicious at this stage and a report will be prepared for the coroner. Bia was playing with her cousin near the water when she slipped and the current pulled her in, it is understood. The boy saved from the water during the initial search remains at a local hospital in a stable condition. Gravesham MP Dr Lauren Sullivan posted a statement on social media on Saturday afternoon, offering her 'deepest condolences' to the family. The Labour MP said: 'I am deeply saddened to hear that a body has been recovered in the search for the girl who went missing in the River Thames in Gravesend. 'I would like to thank emergency services, including the coastguard, Kent Police, the RNLI, and PLA many others for their efforts in the search. 'I know there are many opinions circulating at this time about the circumstances surrounding this tragic event and from speaking to the authorities it is right that there is an investigation, as with all sad circumstances such as these, but at the heart of this is a family and community in grief which I hope everyone can respect. 'I send my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the child, and keep them all in my thoughts at this time.'
