Boy drowned in river swim

The teenager, a girl and other friends are believed to have gone into the river at a spot known as 'the Rollers' at University Parks for a swim but got into difficulty just before 6pm.

Friends managed to haul the girl out but the boy - who last night had not been identified by police but is believed to be a 15-year-old from Oxford - disappeared under the surface.

They raised the alarm and paramedics, firefighters and police officers, backed up by their helicopter, began scouring the stretch of the river near a weir and Mesopotamia Walk as onlookers watched.

After about an hour, firefighters using an underwater camera found his body and he was pulled out, said police spokeswoman Anna Huggins. Despite attempts to revive him, the boy was pronounced dead. The girl was not injured.

Witness Salih Solomon was sitting in the park near the river, which is a popular stretch for people to go swimming.

He said the boy was part of a group of about six teenagers.

He said: "I just heard the screams and I ran across and asked what was going on. One of them said a friend of his had jumped in. He was swimming with a couple of friends and just didn't come up.

"There were two people in the water trying to find him. I jumped in after them but couldn't find him. The girl got out."

Police were trying to piece together exactly what happened from the upset teenagers last night but did not believe there were any suspicious circumstances. They were last night still trying to contact the boys' relatives.

Miss Huggins said: "We were called by the ambulance service. The girl was pulled out straight away by friends but the boy had gone out of sight before they could get him out. She was not hurt but it is a distressing situation for her."

Ambulance spokeswoman Helen Robinson said: "We had Dr John Black, one of the trauma surgeons from the John Radcliffe Hospital, and along with paramedics he worked on him at the scene for about 15 minutes."

Insp Tom Brooks, from Thames Valley police, said: "This is a tragic accident but obviously our enquiries are continuing."

Insp Brooks appealed for any witnesses who had not spoken to police to contact them on 08458 505505.A member of the Kidlington swim rescue team leaves the scene Boy drowned in river swim A schoolboy drowned in the River Cherwell in the centre of Oxford last night despite valiant attempts by friends to save him.

The teenager, a girl and other friends are believed to have gone into the river at a spot known as 'the Rollers' at University Parks for a swim but got into difficulty just before 6pm.

Friends managed to haul the girl out but the boy - who last night had not been identified by police but is believed to be a 15-year-old from Oxford - disappeared under the surface.

They raised the alarm and paramedics, firefighters and police officers, backed up by their helicopter, began scouring the stretch of the river near a weir and Mesopotamia Walk as onlookers watched.

After about an hour, firefighters using an underwater camera found his body and he was pulled out, said police spokeswoman Anna Huggins. Despite attempts to revive him, the boy was pronounced dead. The girl was not injured.

Witness Salih Solomon was sitting in the park near the river, which is a popular stretch for people to go swimming.

He said the boy was part of a group of about six teenagers.

He said: "I just heard the screams and I ran across and asked what was going on. One of them said a friend of his had jumped in. He was swimming with a couple of friends and just didn't come up.

"There were two people in the water trying to find him. I jumped in after them but couldn't find him. The girl got out."

Police were trying to piece together exactly what happened from the upset teenagers last night but did not believe there were any suspicious circumstances. They were last night still trying to contact the boys' relatives.

Miss Huggins said: "We were called by the ambulance service. The girl was pulled out straight away by friends but the boy had gone out of sight before they could get him out. She was not hurt but it is a distressing situation for her."

Ambulance spokeswoman Helen Robinson said: "We had Dr John Black, one of the trauma surgeons from the John Radcliffe Hospital, and along with paramedics he worked on him at the scene for about 15 minutes."

Insp Tom Brooks, from Thames Valley police, said: "This is a tragic accident but obviously our enquiries are continuing."

Insp Brooks appealed for any witnesses who had not spoken to police to contact them on 08458 505505.