- An eleventh person has died in open water in the UK following a record-breaking heatwave , after the body of a teenage boy was recovered from a pond in Swanscombe, Kent, on Wednesday afternoon.
- Emergency services had launched a search and rescue operation after receiving reports of a swimmer in distress, with the death currently not being treated as suspicious as a report is prepared for the coroner.
- The UK Health Security Agency has issued a fresh yellow heat health alert for eastern and south-east England and London, valid from Thursday afternoon until Saturday evening, warning of an increased risk of water-related incidents including cold-water shock and drowning.
- This latest fatality follows a series of other open water deaths across the UK in recent days, including a 14-year-old in the River Thames, a 15-year-old in Lincoln, and a 13-year-old in West Yorkshire, prompting the RNLI to warn of the 'very real risk' of cold water shock despite high air temperatures.
- Heat health alerts have been extended for 24 hours, with amber alerts remaining for several regions including London and the South East, while yellow alerts are in place for the North West and North East, as officials continue to caution against the dangers of open water swimming and other heat-related health risks.
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Teenage boy is 11th person to die in open water during record-breaking UK heatwave
