A 15-year-old “cautious” swimmer died after jumping off a pier in South Wales, an inquest has heard.
David Chiaka Ejimofor died on 19 June 2023 after getting into difficulty in the water at Aberavon Beach, Neath Port Talbot.
His parents have previously called for safety changes in light of their son’s death, telling Sky News that David was a “very kind, lovely, brave boy”.
At Monday’s inquest hearing, Edward Ramsay, assistant coroner for Swansea Neath Port Talbot, read out two statements by David’s mother Maria Ejimofor, in which she described him as “a bright and curious soul who always had a smile on his face”.
Mrs Ejimofor said her son had a passion for sport and also “excelled in his school work”.
She said David had “average swimming ability” and that it was “out of character” for him to jump in the water.
David’s mother added that her son was a “cautious” swimmer, and was “able to swim”, but “was not a strong swimmer”.
At the inquest, Mr Ramsay read statements from a number of witnesses, including off-duty police officer Tyler Rowland, who retrieved David from the water.
Mr Rowland, who was paddleboarding with his wife at the time, said it was “still sunny, warm and clear with very little breeze” when he was at the beach at around 7pm, and the water was “very calm with very little waves”.
“I heard what I would describe as a bit of a commotion from the group of teenagers,” he said in his statement.
“I remember hearing ‘He’s gone’ from one of the teenagers coming in towards the shore.”
As he dived into the water to rescue David, he said “he couldn’t see anything” as it was “completely dark”.
When he managed to retrieve David, he described him as being “very heavy and not moving at all”.
Amy Saunders, a nurse who was at the beach training for an Iron Man competition with her husband and a group of friends, administered CPR.
She said it “all happened in a matter of seconds” but that it was “so clear everyone was trying so hard to get David out of the water”.
DS Simon Davies from South Wales Police said in his evidence to the coroner that searches had been made on David’s phone at 3.53pm on 19 June 2023 for “how long should I weighed [sic] after eating to go swimming”, followed by: “what short to wear for swimming”.
DS Davies confirmed there was no suggestion “whatsoever” from any of the witnesses that David had been pushed into the water, but said that he “appeared to be anxious and nervous” before he jumped.
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The inquest heard that despite the best efforts of emergency services in what was described as a “multi-agency response”, David was pronounced dead at the scene.
The inquest continues.
