A SCHOOLBOY who was found trapped under a tree drowned while swimming with his friend, an inquest has heard.
Kane Edwards, 13, had been in the river with another boy before he was tragically dragged under the fast-flowing water .
Kane’s devastated friends were unable to find him in the dark and couldn’t save him, he was found an hour later by rescue teams .
The alarm was raised when Kane’s pal ran up to a passer-by and asked them “Have you seen my friend? He’s gone under the water and not come up.”
Emergency services were called to the scene at the River Tawe near Swansea Enterprise Park but the current of the water made the search effort tricky.
The court heard how Kane was found “trapped under a tree” at the bottom of the river after a frantic 45 minute search.
PC Richard Petherbridge told the inquiry that the “extremely fast running” and “murky water” made it impossible to save Kane.
He went on to say he could not go into the water fully because “the current under the water was running faster than on the surface.”
He told the hearing fire crews also struggled in the fast-flowing river and some were nearly swept away.
The hearing in Swansea was told a firefighter was eventually able to go under the water and emerged saying there was a “tree on the bottom of the river pinning the boy under it.”
A small boat was later used to get to the centre of the river where Kane, who played rugby for Morriston under 14s, was found dead.
The court heard how members of the public had seen Kane and his friend paddling in the water but that it was not unusual for teenagers to play in the river.
The hearing was told a shoe emerged from the river at one point which Kane’s family tragically identified as his.
Listed for two days, the inquest continues.
At the time of Kane’s death in May 2022, a spokesman for South Wales Police said: “The teenager was located around an hour later elsewhere in the river but he could not be resuscitated.”
The force later added: “South Wales Police can confirm that the boy who died after getting into difficulties in the River Tawe yesterday was 13-year-old Kane Edwards from Morriston.
“His family is being supported by specially-trained officers.
“They have asked that they be left to grieve and come to terms with their loss in private.”
Martin Franklin, headteacher at Morriston Comprehensive School, where Kane attended, said: “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.”
