Boy jumped into River Thames in failed bid to save schoolgirl, nine, before she drowned, inquest hears
A boy unsuccessfully jumped into the River Thames to save a nine-year-old schoolgirl before she drowned, an inquest heard.
The unnamed boy threw himself into the water in Gravesend, Kent, on May 30 last year to save Luiza Paun, known as Bia.
As he entered the river to save the young girl, he was accompanied by George Karnovski, who was both the girl’s uncle and a member of the public.
Mr Karnovski, 37, told the inquest in Maidstone that he ‘screamed’ as he struggled against the current after falling into the water while playing on the pier.
‘As I was pulling him out I was also saying, ‘Where is he, where is he?’ I was looking around. KentOnline.
‘There’s another one, there’s another one’ I shout. I look around [but] ‘I can’t see the little girl because of love or money.’
Emergency services, including HM Coastguard, RNLI and police, descended on the scene to search for Luiza and the mission continued the following day.
However, despite all efforts, he tragically lost his life after his body was pulled out of the water at around 11.35.
The unnamed boy threw himself into the water in Gravesend, Kent, on May 30 last year to save Luiza Paun, known as Bia (pictured).
As he entered the river to save the young girl, he was accompanied by George Karnovski, who was both the girl’s uncle and a member of the public. Picture: The pier where the girl is thought to have played before her death
Coroner Venessa Holt read evidence from the autopsy report for the hearing at Oakwood House, which Luiza’s family did not attend.
The child’s cause of death was reported to be drowning.
Part of the police report read to the court heard that the moment Luiza, from Gravesend, was playing with another child at the Royal Terrace Pier on Gravesend Promenade was recorded on CCTV.
Mr Karnovski’s sister Samantha told the inquest the pair were out for a walk with their family when they noticed the young girl was in trouble.
The boy he was playing with jumped into the water with Mr. Karnovsky to save him.
It took about two minutes for Mr. Karnovski to cross the stream and reach the children 20 meters away; Relatives of the young people called 999.
When he reached the place where he saw Luiza and the other boy, he could only see the boy floating on his back, there was no sign of him.
The RNLI arrived a short time later and rescued Mr Karnovski and the boy from the water.
Ms Holt told the court: ‘At 1.45pm on 30 May Luiza Paun fell into the river. The boy she was with got involved to help both herself and the public.’
‘The child was rescued and after an extensive search Luiza Paun was found in the water the next day and pronounced dead.’
The coroner concluded an accidental death.
Emergency services including HM Coastguard, RNLI and police (pictured at the scene) descended on the scene to search for Luiza and the mission continued the following day. However, despite all efforts, he lost his life tragically.
He added: ‘I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the family.’
In the days after the tragedy, gifts of flowers and soft toys were left where the girl was thought to have entered the water.
One of the messages read, ‘Rest in peace, my little one’, while another said, ‘May you find eternal peace in the arms of the angels.’
Two other people wrote: ‘Rest in peace my beautiful girl’ and ‘Rest in peace my beautiful girl’.
Heartbroken members of Luiza’s family, believed to be Romanian, described her as a ‘beautiful angel’ who ‘had her whole life ahead of her’.
Since then, there have been calls for greater safety measures along the river to prevent people from getting too close to the water’s edge.
This includes more signage in multiple languages warning visitors of the danger area.
