New Year's Eve Reveller Drowns
Body recovered after a three day search
Police divers have recovered the body of a missing man from the Thames at Isleworth.
The body is understood to be that of a 35 year old man who drowned on New Year's Eve. The man was seen disappearing under the water near a pub in Isleworth.
A crew from the Chiswick lifeboat station was alerted but was unable to find any trace of the man and had to abandon the search due to poor light.
The incident was reported to the police by his friend who had been drinking in the pub. He said that the man had dived into the water; after swimming a few strokes he turned and waved, then disappeared.
London Coastguards were alerted and launched an extensive search of the River from Isleworth to Chiswick involving RNLI lifeboats from Chiswick and Teddington, a police helicopter and a Port of London launch.
Chiswick Lifeboat’s station manager Wayne Bellamy was on board the lifeboat during the second phase of the search. He said “The search was conducted between Richmond Lock and Chiswick. All areas on the foreshore and in the river were extensively scoured for any evidence of the missing man. Our information is that the man was intoxicated. Swimming in the Thames is not wise, particularly at this time of year when the tide and flood waters can create conditions which even an accomplished swimmer would not be able to cope with.”
The RNLI has 233 lifeboat stations including four on the Thames. Chiswick RNLI lifeboat became operational on the 2nd January 2002. Since then it has responded to over 1,000 emergency calls. The four Thames lifeboats together have responded to over 3,500 calls. The RNLI is entirely supported by voluntary contributions.
January 5, 2007
