Ali (13 years old) is pictured wearing his Ark Globe Academy uniform
An inquest revealed that a London schoolboy was seen jumping in the River Thames by horrified people after he climbed the Tower Bridge barricade.
Zaheid Ali (13 years old) was discovered dead after jumping in the river earlier this year, on April 20, 2019.
The public tried desperately to rescue the teenager but couldn’t retrieve his jacket or bag.
Southwark Coroner’s Court opened a inquest into the death of his son on Tuesday.
According to Dr Julian Morris, Zaheid had been reported missing when he failed to attend Ark Globe Academy in Elephant and Castle the day before his death.
The teen had left for school as normal and was travelling with a friend on a bus, but alighted a stop earlier than usual, the inquest heard.
The police have evidence that Zaheid, who was seen on CCTV walking toward Tower Bridge’s south side before climbing up the barriers and jumping into River Thames.
Public members threw life rings toward the schoolboy, and some even leapt into the water to rescue him. However, they were not successful.
After being seen leaping into the Thames via Tower Bridge Bridge eight days earlier, Zaheid Al Ali’s body was discovered.
An illustration of the distance between Ark Globe Academy’s school and the River Thames can be seen on this map
The search was again unsuccessful after a police helicopter arrived and marine units joined the rescue effort.
A report was received by police eight days later on April 28, regarding a body found close to the Thames.
Zaheid was found by officers in school uniform. An Oyster card in the blazer helped identify him.
An additional post mortem determined that the cause of death for “immersion” was found.
Dr Morris said that an inquest into the death of the child will be held on an undetermined date.
According to him, ‘Mr Ali has been reported missing since April 20th when he did not attend school. He had been travelling with a friend to school on a bus and got off at one stop earlier than expected. From there, he made his way towards Tower Bridge.
He entered the bridge via the south, and was then seen jumping over the barricade. Members of the public attempted to save him with life-support rings, and then jumped in the river. However, they were not able to recover him.
Reports of a body being found south of the river surface were received by the ‘City of London Police’ and an unarmed marine unit.
The Oyster card had Zaheid’s name printed on it. He also wore the uniform from school when he jumped in.
The Year 8 pupil was said to have been travelling with a friend on a bus but did not arrive at the south London school on the day of his death. Photographed: This is the scene as it appeared on April 20
Ark Globe Academy executive principal Matt Jones expressed sadness at the discovery of Zaheid’s body and said that police suspect it was the student who has gone missing.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones.
“As a school, we have come together to support our students during this time of need.”
One witness who worked on a South Bank construction site said that he heard someone screaming for help.
After he was rescued, she asked her why no one helped him.
However, the woman was unable to recover his jacket and school bag.