Girl, 11, missing after entering River Thames ‘had been paddling’

Metropolitan Police launch ‘extensive search’ after child falls into water in east London

An 11-year-old girl, who is missing after she entered the River Thames, had been paddling on a day off school, residents near the scene have said.

The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to reports that the girl had entered the river close to Barge House Causeway, near London City Airport, at about 1.15pm on Monday.

Emergency services launched a “large-scale response” to the incident, the force said, but the search was later scaled down, with London Ambulance Service (LAS), London Fire Brigade (LFB) and the RNLI saying crews had been stood down.

The child had been playing near the water with a young boy and girl, residents said.

Shaleen Rajaendram, 59, who lives next to Kerry Benadjaoud on Barge House Road near where the incident occurred, said: “I heard upstairs a guy was screaming ‘wait there, wait, the police is coming’.”

Ms Rajaendram said he later told her he had been alerted by the children “shouting, screaming”.

The mother continued: “Then I saw suddenly two kids were coming out to the top of the bridge, I said ‘what happened?’

A police helicopter has been dispatched in the search off Barge House Road, east London (X/IG1IG3)

“Then they said ‘one of my friends was playing in the water, one of my friends has gone into the water and she’s gone underneath and we can’t find her’.”

Another mother said she carried a life ring to the shoreline to try and save the girl but was unable to find the child.

Lifelong area resident Kerry Benadjaoud, 62, said: “[A neighbour] said at the time he could see her hands going down. So, by the time I got down there with the ring I couldn’t find her.”

Ms Benadjaoud said she found shoes, a sock, a coat and a phone near the river, and handed the items to the police. “Apparently she was paddling, so her socks and shoes were off, her coat, then she must have slipped and gone down”, she added.

The two women live on a residential street that leads onto Barge House Causeway – a concrete slope that goes directly into the River Thames and is used to transport boats.

The rescue operation also involves RNLI, a Border Force Viper boat and a search and rescue helicopter, according to news agency UKNIP.

The girl entered the water close to the Woolwich Ferry in east London (Google Maps)

An RNLI spokeswoman said their lifeboat has been “stood down” after being called to Woolwich.

A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: “Police were called at around 1.15pm on Monday, 31 March to reports of an 11-year-old girl who had entered the River Thames near to Barge House Causeway, E16.

“A large scale response is ongoing, supported by all emergency services, working together to conduct an extensive search in efforts to locate her.

“Her next of kin have been made aware and are being supported by officers.”

The London Fire Brigade deployed drones and its fire boat to help a “systematic search” of the area.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said their crew arrived at the scene but have since been stood down.

“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an advanced paramedic, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team (HART),” they said.