13-Year-Old Drowns After Getting Trapped Underwater by Tree in River

A 13-year-old boy drowned after getting “trapped underwater by a tree” in a river in Wales, according to reports.

At around 5:00 p.m. local time on May 24, 2022, 13-year-old Kane Edwards went swimming with his friend in the River Tawe in Morriston, Swansea, when he “got into difficulty” in the water, an inqest into his death heard, as reported by U.K. newspaper, The Independent.

“Edwards got into difficulty and had not been seen to exit the river,” the South Wales Police told the court, per the outlet. After “an extensive search” carried out by police, fire, ambulance and the coastguard, Edward’s body was located an hour later in the river near the Swansea Enterprise Park.

“He was unable to be resuscitated despite the efforts of the emergency services,” police said. Edwards was determined to have died by drowning following a post-mortem examination.

In an inquest on Monday, Aug. 18, witness Matthew Altarno said he saw Edwards and his friend paddling before a boy came to him moments later, saying, “Have you seen my friend? He’s gone under the water and not come up,” BBC News reported.

A “small” search was then carried out by authorities to locate Edwards, under what was described in court as “murky” conditions with “fast-running” waters. One fire team member eventually found “a tree on the bottom of the river pinning the boy under it.”

The other boy told investigators that Edwards appeared to “have his foot trapped” at one point in the water. His “head could be seen going under the water,” he said, per BBC News. A shoe later emerged from the river during the search, which Edwards’ family confirmed was his at the scene.

During the inquest, it was revealed that emergency services initially failed to establish the correct location of Edwards due to a location app failure. They were then given an address by a passer-by, which was “on the wrong side of the river,” per BBC News.

Coroner Edward Ramsey asked the service manager of the Welsh Ambulance Service if “valuable time had been lost” in the search for Edwards, per BBC News. The fire team and NHS Area Response Team also reportedly searched three different pools in the area.

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Edwards’ headteacher, Martin Franklin, said in a statement, “Our whole school community is devastated by the news, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of our pupil at this very difficult time. Students and staff are being offered support and we’d ask that the privacy of the school community and the pupil’s friends and family be respected,” per The Independent.

Edwards was described as a “lovely boy” who was “full of life” by his family, the inquest heard.

“He was very sporty, very lively and really close to his mother and family,” his cousin Ffion told Wales Online. “He meant everything to his family … it’s been really tough.”

PEOPLE has contacted Morriston Comprehensive School and the South Wales Police for comment but did not immediately hear back.