Thando Ndlovu: Teenage boy drowned in river, inquest finds

A teenager drowned after getting into difficulty while swimming in a Derbyshire river, an inquest has heard.

Thandolwethu Ndlovu, from Chellaston and known as Thando, went into the River Trent while playing with friends near Swarkestone on 20 July 2021.

Derby Coroner's Court heard the 15-year-old's body was found by a police diving team the following day.

A cause of death was determined as drowning, with the death recorded as accidental.

The court heard Thando - who could swim but was said by his mother Nombulelo to not be a confident swimmer - had gone down to a popular stretch of the river with a group of friends.

Det Con Graham Barrett told the court the area was where the river narrowed, and while there was no strong current on the day it flowed faster in this area.

Peter Nieto, coroner for Derby and Derbyshire, said there was no evidence Thando was "encouraged or coerced" to enter the water.

None of his friends had encountered difficulties in the water, nor heard him call for help.

"He seemed to suddenly disappear below the water, and very sadly [his] friends could not locate him," said Mr Nieto.

His friends immediately called for emergency services, who could not find his body until the following day.

Finding the death was accidental, Mr Nieto said: "It could not have been foreseen that that was going to happen, but sadly it did.

"It was very unexpected for everybody."

In a statement to the court his Ms Ndlovu said his death had left her feeling "hollow", adding she wished she had told him more about the dangers of open water swimming.

She said the family is interested in working with the fire service to highlight the dangers of such swimming to school children.

Mr Nieto said he would write to the fire service and copy in Derbyshire Police and Thando's former school, and also said he would write to Derbyshire County Council to "invite them to consider whether they could put any signage up around that area of the river".

The coroner also offered his condolences to the family.

"It's very clear to me that he must be much missed by a lot of people," he said.

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