A 15-year-old Nigerian boy d!ed from drowning after jumping off a pier in South Wales, a coroner has concluded.
David Chiaka Ejimofor d!ed on 19 June 2023 after jumping into the sea from the breakwater in Aberavon, Neath Port Talbot, shortly after 7pm.
At an inquest into his death, coroner Edward Ramsay said there had been a “lack of effective deterrents on the day in question” to prevent David from jumping in.
“I have no idea if he saw the signage stating no access,” the coroner said.”Secondly, even if he did, there was no physical barrier deterring entry.”
Mr Ramsay said that had a lifeguard been on duty at the time, it was possible David “would not have jumped and therefore not have drowned”.
David had received swimming lessons in the past, the inquest heard, and his mother Maria Ejimofor described him as a “cautious” swimmer.
Internet searches on David’s phone suggested he was “anticipating going swimming later that day” but he had expressed “some caution about jumping”, the inquest heard.
Mr Ramsay said the breakwater “should not have been used” for jumping into the sea but there was “effectively unrestricted and undeterred access”.
Upon entering the water, David “very sadly found himself in immediate difficulty”, the coroner said.
“This was because whilst he had swam, and could swim, his swimming ability was not good,” he added.
Despite the “frantic efforts” of David’s friends, his swimming ability “was not sufficient to keep him afloat”, Mr. Ramsay said.
The coroner formally recognised the efforts of paddleboarding off-duty police officer Tyler Rowland, who helped get David to shore, and the members of the public who delivered CPR.
“Providing lifeguard cover is one of a range of safety measures a landowner or Council can implement to mitigate risk,” and RNLI spokesperson said after the conclusion of the inquest.
“RNLI lifeguard patrols routinely operate between the hours of 10am-6pm, because this is the time period which incident data tells us is the busiest and highest risk period.”
Despite their efforts, and that of the emergency services, David was declared dead at the scene at 8.05pm.
Mr Ramsay expressed his sympathy to David’s family and said he would issue a prevention of future deaths report at a later date.
Following the conclusion of the inquest, the owner of the breakwater said its “deepest sympathy and thoughts remain with David’s family, friends and all who knew him”.
“We continue to work with local stakeholders and partners regarding water safety at Port Talbot,” the spokesperson for Associated British Ports added.
A spokesperson for Neath Port Talbot Council said it wanted to “reiterate our sincere condolences to David’s family and many friends”.
On the concerns raised by the coroner about the safety on the beaches at Aberavon, the council said it and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) were “in the process of monitoring activity for the 2025 season and will continue to review beach safety provision”.
The council will respond to the assistant coroner’s concerns in due course, the spokesperson added.
