Four teens die in open water during heatwave as RNLI warns of ‘very real risk’
Four teenagers have tragically drowned in open water as Britain experiences a heatwave, prompting the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) to issue urgent warnings about the dangers of swimming in cold weather.
Open bodies of water remain dangerously cold despite record-breaking May temperatures over the last bank holiday weekend, the charity warned on Tuesday.
This stark contrast can trigger ‘cold water shock’, a serious physiological response. Cold water shock can trigger hyperventilation, a rapid increase in heart rate, and a sudden rise in blood pressure.
In extreme cases, even strong swimmers can become overwhelmed and drown as their bodies struggle to cope with the sudden change in temperature.
In a statement on Tuesday, the RNLI said: “Although the air temperatures are warm, the seas are still cold and cold water shock remains a very real risk.
“As many school children take advantage of the half-term break, the life-saving charity is urging everyone to stay safe.”
The warning comes after police forces in South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Warwickshire, Lincolnshire, Devon and Cornwall were called to break up fatal open water incidents involving four teenagers and a man in his 60s.
A body was found Sunday during a search for a child who got into trouble at a lake in Lincoln.
Emergency services were called to Swanholme Lakes at 2.30pm on Sunday following reports that 15-year-old Declan Sawyer had gone into the water and was missing.
Meanwhile, a 13-year-old boy died on Monday afternoon after getting into trouble at Leadbeater Dam near Halifax in West Yorkshire.
A West Yorkshire police spokesman said the young boy was pulled from the water and taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Devon and Cornwall Police said the same afternoon a man in his 60s died of a heart attack after diving into the sea at Tregirls Beach in Padstow to help two family members in distress. The two families were taken to a safe place by citizens.
The body of a young girl was pulled from the water at Kingsbury Water Park in Warwickshire on Monday evening.
South Yorkshire Police said the body of the fourth teenager was pulled from the water at Rother Valley Country Park in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
At 18.50 on Monday, an expert search operation was launched following the news that the child entered the water but was not seen coming out.
On Tuesday afternoon, Lancashire police said searches were continuing after a boy got into trouble while swimming with friends in a river in the Ribble Valley.
A force spokesman said officers were called just after 2pm to concerns for the welfare of a child who had fallen into the river at Ribchester.
