A 14-year-old boy has become the 11th person to die in water-related incidents during the UK heatwave after his body was recovered from the River Thames in Oxford. Emergency services were called near Donnington Bridge at approximately 5:30pm on Wednesday. Thames Valley Police described the death as unexplained but not suspicious.
The boy’s family have been informed and are being supported. This tragedy follows a series of similar incidents across the country amid record-breaking temperatures, which reached 35.1C in Kew Gardens on Tuesday. The hot weather is expected to continue into the weekend, with a yellow heat health alert in place for eastern and south-east England and London from Thursday until Saturday.
The UK Health Security Agency has warned that water-related incidents could increase and highlighted the risks of cold-water shock and drowning. Meanwhile, thunderstorms brought heavy rainfall to parts of the Midlands and northern England, with over 85,000 lightning strikes recorded across the UK, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland since Tuesday.
Other recent victims include Declan Sawyer, 15, who died at Swanholme Lakes in Lincoln on Sunday; a 13-year-old boy at Leadbeater Dam in West Yorkshire on Monday; and a 12-year-old boy, Junior Slater, in the River Ribble in Lancashire on Tuesday. The bodies of a teenage girl and a 17-year-old boy were also recovered from Kingsbury Water Park in Warwickshire and Pickmere Lake in Cheshire respectively.
