Body Found in River Ribble Search for Missing 12-Year-Old Boy

A body has been found in the search for a 12-year-old boy who went missing while swimming in the River Ribble, Lancashire. The boy was swimming with friends at around 14:00 BST on Tuesday when he got into difficulty. A major search operation was launched, involving police and fire crews with underwater units, until a body was recovered at about 19:50 BST. Formal identification is pending, but police believe it is the missing boy. The death is not considered suspicious, and a file will be passed to the coroner. The boy’s family is being supported by specially trained officers. A resident noted that the river area is a known hotspot for non-local swimmers, despite locals avoiding it due to known dangers. This incident is one of several during the UK heatwave; a teenage girl died in Warwickshire’s Kingsbury Water Park, and a teenage boy’s body was found in Rother Valley Country Park, Rotherham. The RLSS warned that despite high air temperatures, water remains cold, posing a risk of cold water shock.

The UK Health Security Agency issued heat-health alerts across much of England and Wales on Tuesday.

Advice from the RLSS includes calling 999 in emergencies, staying out of the water, and throwing flotation aids like bottles or footballs to those in distress.