A coroner has issued two Prevention of Future Deaths reports following the deaths of two teenagers in the River Tyne in Northumberland. David Ionut Radut, 14, and Aras Rudzianskas, 13, died in May 2024 after getting into difficulties in the water near Ovingham. The inquest heard that David, who could not swim, let go of a rope swing too early and landed in a deeper part of the river. He shouted for help, and Aras jumped in to try to save him but also drowned.
Delays in Installing Safety Signs
Assistant coroner Paul Dunn questioned why safety signs and equipment had not been installed sooner in the area. In July 2022, 13-year-old Robert Hattersley had drowned at the same stretch. The inquest heard that signs warning against entering the water had been installed on the south bank at Prudhoe Riverside Park, but none were on the north bank where David and Aras entered the water.
Martin Kammeier, station manager for Northumberland Fire and Rescue, said he emailed landowner Northumberland Estates on April 17, 2024, and received permission to erect signage on April 19, 2024. However, the signs had still not been installed when the two boys died in May 2024. Mr Kammeier expressed "frustration" at the delays but cited resourcing constraints. Since the deaths, five sets of signs and rescue equipment have been installed.
Coroner's Criticism
When asked about installing signs that inform people of the number of deaths in the stretch, Mr Kammeier said he had explored the possibility but was "advised not to go down that route by my managers in case it causes distress." Coroner Paul Dunn responded: "Is there anything more distressing than the death of a 14-year-old boy in the river? There is a real issue in this stretch of water as you and I both know."
Mr Dunn said it was "impossible to say it (signage) would have stopped David and Aras from going into the water but impossible to say that it wouldn't have stopped them." He added: "It's little comfort to the families of those two boys and little comfort to me, because this is an area of the river where there have been three deaths in two incidents in four years."
Fire Service Actions
The fire service has reviewed its approach to school water safety, conducted more fire community safety events, and launched a water safety social media campaign viewed 190,000 times, Mr Kammeier told the inquest.
Landowner's Response
Neil Dawson, countryside and green spaces manager for Northumberland County Council, said the council would remove rope swings when aware but was "not aware of a rope swing" at the site. Rory Wilson, senior manager of Northumberland Estates, said there was "no record of anyone at Northumberland Estates becoming aware of a rope swing" and that the company has "no presence on the land." He described the land as "a river bank, there's nothing other than the land itself. The responsibility being legal owner of that land is more of a reactive response than a proactive response."
Prevention of Future Deaths Reports
The coroner issued one Prevention of Future Deaths report to Northumberland Estates, instructing them to take a more direct approach to managing the land. A separate report was sent to Northumberland County Council and Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service. Mr Dunn said: "It doesn't seem to me beyond the pale to suggest that an organisation with the capacity of Northumberland Estates with its own forestry department shouldn't (carry out an inspection) at an interval that is suitable. As we've heard very clearly from everybody, it's a section of river bank where there has been a particular problem."
David Ionut Radut's death was recorded as an accident. Aras Rudzianskas died "as a result of the effects of drowning whilst attempting to save the life of his friend."
