A teenage boy is feared to have drowned after getting into difficulty in the River Thames - making him the sixth to die since yesterday's Met Office weather warning came into force.
Metropolitan Police were called to reports at 4.43pm by the London Ambulance Service to reports that a child had been seen entering the water at Tagg’s Island in Hampton.
Officers responded with paramedics and the London Fire Brigade. An extensive search was carried out involving all three emergency services and members of the public.
Very sadly, efforts to locate the boy were unsuccessful.
By 6.40pm the rescue operation was brought to an end. Efforts to recover his body will continue into this evening.
His next of kin are aware and are being supported by specialist officers.
Police are warning people to not swim in open water to cool off in these record temperatures.
Superintendent Richard Smith, from the South West Command Unit, said: “Despite the very best efforts of all involved, we must now sadly conclude that this young boy has died.
“His death is a tragedy and I cannot begin to imagine what his family will be going through. All our thoughts are with them.
“I know that on days like today when temperatures are at a record high, it might look appealing to jump in and cool off in rivers, reservoirs, lakes or other open water.
“Please don’t. The dangers are real and this evening in Richmond we have seen the terrible consequences of what happens when it goes wrong.
“To young people in particular, I would urge you to be the person in your group of friends who says no and reminds others about the dangers. Your intervention could save a life and save another family from experiencing such an awful loss.”
This lad's death is the sixth since the Met Office weather warning came into force yesterday.
Earlier today, one unidentified body was found in the River Irwell in Bury and the body of a 16-year-old boy was pulled from Bray Lake, near Maidenhead in Berkshire.
Yesterday, three people died in heat-related incidents.
A 51-year-old man's body was recovered from the River Spey in Scotland, a 13-year-old boy died after getting into difficulties in the River Tyne near Ovingham, Northumberland, and a man died after falling overboard in Cromane Bay in, Northern Ireland.
