Passengers tried to save bus stab victim - inquest

The driver and passengers of the bus on which a 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death tried to save him, an inquest has heard.

Kelyan Bokassa was pronounced dead shortly after being attacked in Woolwich, south-east London, on 7 January.

A 16-year-old boy from Plumstead in south-east London, and a 15-year-old boy from Woolwich, have been charged with his murder.

A brief inquest into Kelyan's death, heard virtually by Coroner Michelle Haste at London Inner South Coroner's Court, was opened and adjourned until criminal proceedings conclude.

The inquest was told Kelyan boarded the bus at 14:06 GMT at North Greenwich train station.

After Kelyan was attacked on the top deck of the Route 472 bus at about 14:30 GMT, members of the public on the bus called for help and got the bus to stop, Det Ch Insp Sarah Lee told the hearing.

"A number of passengers tried to help Kelyan. He came down the stairs and they placed him on a seat on the lower deck," she said.

She said the bus driver called for aid, and police and the London Ambulance Service attended, but the boy could not be saved and he died at the scene.

The inquest heard a provisional cause of death has been given as a stab wound to the right thigh.

A 44-year-old woman who was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender in connection with the case has been released under investigation.

Bromley Youth Court heard on Thursday that Kelyan was stabbed repeatedly on his journey home from school and died from a severed femoral artery.

At a vigil held on Tuesday at a church overlooking the bus stop where he was stabbed, one of Kelyan's friends said the boy had a "pure heart" and would "always be there for you".

With additional reporting from PA Media.

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