Essential Ndubuisi
A Nigerian hero who died rescuing a woman who was drowning in the Thames Rivers in London shouted “I’ve got to save her, she is not dying” before he jumped in, an inquest heard today.
Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole, 20, was found dead six hours after going into the water near London Bridge in what police described as a “sheer act of bravery” to aid the 21-year-old woman who survived.
Mr Olubunmi-Adewole, known to friends as Jimi, and his best pal Bernard Kosia were walking across London Bridge just after midnight on 24 April last year when eyewitnesses alerted them to the situation.
He soon saw the woman shouting “Help me! Help me! I can’t swim. I am going to die,” and called 999.
The inquest at Inner South London Coroners Court heard Joaquin Garcia, who saw the woman as he changed buses, jump in. Mr Olubunmi-Adewole jumped in five or 10 seconds later.
Mr. Garcia rescued the woman but Jimi began struggling almost straight away after jumping in.
Mr. Kosia said Mr. Olubunmi-Adewole told him to stay on land because he could not swim, which he did.
Investigating Officer Detective Sergeant Stefan Yiannaki, of City of London Police, said officers arrived within six minutes of the 999 call being made.
Mr Garcia and the woman were pulled out of the water five minutes later before police helicopters and marine crews began a search for Mr Olubunmi-Adewole, which lasted almost an hour.
Assistant Coroner Dr Julian Morris, recording a conclusion of accidental death, said Mr Olubunmi-Adewole’s courage in rushing to save the woman was “astonishing”.
“To lose a 20-year-old man in circumstances such as this is truly tragic. I pass on my heartfelt condolences to all your family.”
Mr Olubunmi-Adewole, a former pupil at Harris Academy Peckham in south-east London, was posthumously put forward for a Royal Humane Society award by City of London Police for his “bravery and selfless actions”.
Daily News Reporters
