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Wales Online
21-05-2025
- Wales Online
'More could die' at Welsh beach where boy drowned coroner fears
'More could die' at Welsh beach where boy drowned coroner fears Having a lifeguard on duty could have deterred David Ejimofor, 15, from jumping into the water from the pier at Aberavon, an inquest heard today David Ejimofor died on Monday, June 19, 2023 after he'd jumped from the high pier alongside friends at Aberavon beach in Port Talbot (Image: South Wales Police ) A coroner has told an inquest into the death of a 15-year-old who died at a Welsh beach that he is concerned similarly fatal incidents could happen without intervention. David Ejimofor, 15, died on June 19, 2023, after jumping into the water at Aberavon's small beach from the pier while celebrating the end of exam season. The court heard people often use the pier to jump into the sea even though the pier should not be used for that purpose. And despite the pier being known to be used as a de facto diving platform the little beach is still not manned by a lifeguard even in warm months which coroner Edward Ramsay has been critical of during the three-day inquest at Swansea Coroners' Court. David, a St Joseph's Comprehensive School pupil, had been visibly anxious and nervous and had previously googled terms which showed he was a novice swimmer, but he jumped into the water after his friends who were also jumping in from the pier had encouraged him to do so. A gifted weightlifter and track athlete, David was not a typical 15-year-old and was far too heavy for his friends who could not keep him afloat. He sank to the bottom of the seabed and was submerged in the water, emergency services believe, for up to 10 minutes. You can get more story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here. Despite the best efforts of members of the public, including paddleboarder and off-duty police officer Tyler Rowland who rescued him from the seabed and instructed his friends to help swim him back to shore with the help of a life ring which had been thrown from the pier, David was pronounced dead at the beach. A post mortem examination conducted by Dr John Williams found he'd died of drowning. Article continues below A popular member of his community and a supremely talented young man, David is missed by many (Image: John Myers ) Mr Ramsay told the final day of the inquest: 'David was reassured he would be okay, but I make no criticism of David's friends. There is no basis for me to do so. Data extracted from David's mobile phone shows he was anticipating swimming that day at the location of the little beach. 'On entering the water he sadly found himself in immediate difficulty. His swimming ability was not good and there may also have been an element of cold water shock as panic ensued. 'I find it too speculative to say David could have been rescued by a lifeguard after entering the water. The point is he shouldn't have been able to jump from the pier or the breakwater in the first place. The news of David's death rocked the local school community in Port Talbot in 2023 (Image: John Myers ) 'There was a lack of effective deterrence on the day preventing David and his friends from using the pier or breakwater in a way it was not designed for. There was no barrier, there was inadequate signage, there was no lifeguard present. 'If there had been a lifeguard stationed there for the purpose of preventing people jumping into the water from the breakwater it is possible that would have prevented David from doing so. He was already cautious about doing so.' The RNLI has documented in its own assessments of the little beach at Aberavon that they have had to speak to youngsters who jump off the pier into the water. And the court heard the issues at the beach still exist today. The inquest had heard from the RNLI's regional lead for Wales and the west Peter Rooney who confirmed the little beach at Aberavon still isn't manned by lifeguards even though it has been historically. Since David's death the owner of the pier Associated British Holdings Ltd has installed a gate with the intention of preventing people from accessing the pier for the purposes of jumping into the water, but on a site visit Mr Rooney said it was easy for most people to climb over the gate. He painted a picture of members of the public effectively being able to do what they like despite the potential risk to life, and explained the RNLI would need to increase its resources significantly if they were expected to regularly post lifeguards there. The coroner said he was sufficiently worried enough to write a prevention of future deaths report which will be made public soon. David's parents Alex and Maria Ejimofor visiting tributes that were left for their son at Aberavon beach (Image: John Myers ) Following David's death Neath Port Talbot council asked the RNLI to conduct a risk assessment of the beach. The assessment which is used by the RNLI across the country measured in-water population, strength of the tide and the number of conflicting activities at the small beach and concluded there was a low to medium risk which did not require a lifeguard at that point. Mr Ramsay had questioned whether the fact David died at the beach and that other youngsters often use the pier to jump into the water should be evidence enough the risk was higher. On Wednesday in his summing up of the inquest he said: 'Proper consideration of lifeguard attendance has been lacking and a lifeguard should probably have been there at the time of David's death. 'I haven't been provided with a satisfactory explanation for the issues raised regarding the concerns about the absence of lifeguards at the pier after 6pm. The reasoning this is not in place is almost entirely absent in my judgement.' The family of David Ejimofor, who died after getting into difficulty in the water at Aberavon Beach, near Port Talbot, visiting foral tributes and messages of support (Image: John Myers ) The coroner recorded a formal conclusion of misadventure. He summed up: 'At 20.05 on June 19, 2023 at the little beach in Aberavon, David Ejimofor died having drowned after jumping into the sea from the breakwater to which he had effectively unrestricted and undeterred access. 'The breakwater should not have been used for that purpose but was known to have been used by local children and teenagers, especially when the weather was good. In the past lifeguards have been stationed at or around the pier to deter this activity. But no lifeguard was present at the time that David jumped. Had there been one it is possible he would not have jumped and therefore would not have drowned.' Mr Ramsay added 'David was a treasured son, brother, grandson, cousin and friend' and praised the actions of members of the public and the emergency services who did everything they could to try to save him. In a statement issued after the hearing an RNLI spokesperson said: "Our thoughts and sincere condolences go out to the family and friends of David. As a charity, we exist to prevent drowning so that nobody suffers the devastating loss of a loved one in this way. "This tragic incident happened on private land. The RNLI works with landowners and councils to provide lifeguard patrols when they are requested by the landowners and have explicit permission to do so. Providing lifeguard cover is one of a range of safety measures a landowner or council can implement to mitigate risk. "Other measures such as permanent signage or beach safety education are important as lifeguards cannot be everywhere all of the time. This is why the RNLI invests in sharing water safety advice with the public, so people have the information they need to keep themselves safe. "The RNLI works closely with councils and landowners to determine when the charity will provide lifeguard patrols. RNLI lifeguard patrols routinely operate between the hours of 10am-6pm, because this is the time period which incident data tells us is the busiest and highest risk period." Article continues below
Wales Online
19-05-2025
- Wales Online
Friends were ‘egging boy on' who jumped from pier before he died, inquest hears
Friends were 'egging boy on' who jumped from pier before he died, inquest hears David Ejimofor died on Monday, June 19, 2023, the day he was celebrating the end of exams David Ejimofor died on Monday, June 19, 2023 after he'd jumped from the high pier alongside friends at Aberavon beach in Port Talbot (Image: South Wales Police ) Friends of a 15-year-old boy who died after he jumped from a pier into the sea at a Welsh beach had been 'egging him on', an inquest has heard. David Ejimofor died on Monday, June 19, 2023, after he'd jumped from the high pier alongside friends at Aberavon's small beach near the Victoria Road car park in Port Talbot. The inquest being held at Swansea Coroners' Court heard how David, who was a gifted weightlifter and track athlete but couldn't swim well, had told his friends on the day that he wasn't confident he would be able to swim if he jumped into the water but, according to eyewitness fisherman Luke McDonald who was a couple of hundred yards away from the group of teenagers, his friends shouted words to the effect of: 'Come on – jump in. You'll be fine. It's not deep.' When the St Joseph's Comprehensive School boy, who had been celebrating the end of exam season on the day he died, jumped into the water he immediately began 'thrashing about', Mr McDonald said in a statement read to the court by coroner Edward Ramsay. 'There were around eight or nine boys in total,' Mr McDonald said in his statement. 'I could hear one boy say he couldn't swim and he didn't seem sure about going in. He was well-built with dark dreadlocks and I think he had black swim shorts. 'All the boys other than him jumped into the sea. He was still standing on the pier. I remember them egging him on. They were saying words to the effect of: 'Come on – jump in. You'll be fine. It's not deep.' 'I then saw him jump in. He was not pushed or forced in. As he jumped in I was watching to make sure he was okay as I heard him say he couldn't swim. I saw thrashing around a bit. I saw some others grab him and keep him afloat. He looked like he had support. I turned back to my fishing rod. I then heard them say they couldn't see him. I heard someone shout: 'I can't see Dave.'' Article continues below A popular member of his community and a supremely talented young man, David is missed by many (Image: John Myers ) The news of David's death rocked the local school community in Port Talbot in 2023 (Image: John Myers ) A number of people rushed to the boy's aid including some of his friends who struggled to hold him up out of the water. The court had heard how David, who had gone viral on TikTok for his weightlifting prowess, was heavier than a typical 15-year-old and had a bodybuilder's diet. One teenager who had been trying to help David stay out of the water was physically 'exhausted', the inquest heard. A number of paddleboarders and swimmers rushed to rescue David from the water with the help of a life ring which had been thrown into the water from the pier. Tyler Rowland, an off-duty police officer at the beach paddleboarding at the time, told the court he saw around seven teens in the distance in the water close to the pier. Minutes later detective constable Rowland said he 'saw a commotion involving the teens I'd previously seen'. He said he could see 'two or three of them heading towards the shore while the remainder of the group were halfway out at the pier'. DC Rowland said: 'I remember hearing one of them say: 'He's gone.' I paddled towards them and some of them told me someone had gone under the water and hadn't come up. 'Two or three of the boys, aged around 15 and 16, were in the water and were shaken up and treading water. One of them said something like: 'He's a big boy and he can't swim.' They were in real panic. A teenage girl was screaming at them: 'Look for him, look for him.' 'I took a breath and dived straight down. I felt the floor and realised it was not as deep as I thought. I came back up to take another breath and try again. One of the teenagers was also diving down as well. 'I dived down and was searching the floor with my hands. It was completely dark and I couldn't see anything. My hands hit what I thought was a rock at first. I then was convinced it was the top of an arm. I was on the sea floor at this point and the male was flat on the seabed. 'I put my arms under his armpits and put my feet to the seabed and pushed up with all my strength off the floor. He was very heavy and not moving at all. 'We put the ring over his head and put his arms out of the ring either side. He was completely limp and kept sliding out of the ring. He was motionless. I told the boys: 'Grab the ring and swim as far as you can.' They were exhausted.' Katie Morgan was training in the water at Aberavon at the time for an upcoming Ironman event alongside her husband Neil and friends Ian and Amy Saunders and Barry Gregory. She said she saw DC Rowland and a teenager trying desperately to swim out of the water while holding David who was inside the ring. 'I could see the male being held up was unconscious,' she said. 'We got him onto the sand area and a few others pulled him further up the beach. Amy, a nurse, and the off-duty police officer (DC Rowland) started giving chest compressions. Another two police officers arrived and then paramedics arrived.' Police constable Lewis Evans and police constable Gethin Horler-Clee told the court they arrived when David and eyewitnesses were knee-deep in the water. The officers helped take David further up the beach as the tide was coming in before placing him on a paddleboard and delivering further compressions and using a defibrillator. PC Horler-Clee said he took a number of eyewitness statements. To his knowledge at the time 'friends had jumped into the water and David followed them in doing so despite not being able to swim'. Paramedic Barry Edwards said according to witness reports David had been under the water for 10 minutes. He said two shocks were administered using the defibrillator and advanced life support was provided at the scene before David was pronounced dead at 8.05pm. David's parents Alex and Maria Ejimofor visiting tributes that were left for their son at Aberavon beach (Image: John Myers ) The family of David Ejimofor, who died after getting into difficulty in the water at Aberavon Beach, near Port Talbot, visiting foral tributes and messages of support (Image: John Myers ) Swansea University pathologist Dr Williams noted: 'Witnesses say all males except for David were completing a series of jumps from the pier. Two of the males shouted to David join them and he said he wasn't a good swimmer. They explained they would help him. When David jumped into the water they began to assist him and they were being pulled below water. Members of the public had become aware and a life ring was thrown to David and members of the public began to dive down to try and retrieve him. He was brought to the surface and placed on a paddleboard while CPR was commenced. Despite the efforts by all involved he was declared deceased at the scene." Dr Williams advised a medical cause of death as 1A: drowning. David's parents Maria and Alex Ejimofor arrived at the beach before they were conveyed alongside their son to Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend. Maria told the court her son wasn't a strong swimmer and she and her family were 'shocked' to hear he had jumped into the water from the pier. Article continues below 'We would frequently go to the beach as a family,' she said. 'I never saw him paddle further than up to his knees or thighs. He was not a risk-taker. He would not put his head in the open water. He was fully aware that he was not the strongest of swimmers. He was particularly cautious around open water.' Paying tribute to David she said he was a 'bright and curious soul who always had a smile on his face'. She added: 'He was honest, caring, intelligent, polite, independent, hardworking, full of life, respectful, and a beautiful young boy who had achieved so much in his 15 years. David was a beacon of positivity and resilience. He brought joy and laughter and his memory will remain in the hearts of those fortunate to have known him. His spirit inspires us to find strength in the most difficult moments.' As well as being an avid weightlifter with a big social media following around that David was a highly skilled 100m sprinter as well as excelling in long jump, high jump, and shot put. He had also performed well at school, particularly in French and maths, and he played the piano with 'melodies which touched our hearts', his mother said.
