Body found in search for girl, 11, who went missing after falling in River Thames ‘while playing on day off school’
A BODY has been found in the search for an 11-year-old girl who went missing after falling in the River Thames.
Kaliyah Coa vanished into the water while paddling with a friend near Woolwich, London, at the end of March.
Now, officers have said they were alerted to a body in the River Thames in Maritime Quay around 9am today.
But cops said the body has yet to be formally identified as Kaliyah’s but her parents have been told of the latest development.
Met Police said in a statement: “The body is yet to be formally identified.
“However, the family of Kaliyah Coa have been informed of this development and are being supported by specialist officers.”
Cops said she had been playing during a school inset day and entered the water near Barge House Causeway in North Woolwich.
The youngster, of Beckton, had been staying with pals during an inset day, having celebrated her birthday the week before.
It’s understood Kaliyah took off her shoes to paddle in the water – but slipped and fell before being swept away by the current.
An emergency response was immediately launched, with multiple search and rescue teams dispatched.
A relative previously told The Sun: “It was her birthday last week. She had only just turned 11.
“She was a beautiful bubbly girl. A very happy girl and lovely girl.”
Shaleen Rajaendram, 59, who lives on Barge House Road which leads onto the causeway, said: “I heard upstairs a guy was screaming ‘wait there, wait, the police is coming’.”
The man was standing on a balcony in a flat block overlooking the river and later told Ms Rajaendram he had been alerted by the children “shouting, screaming”, she said.
Ms Rajaendram continued: “Then I saw suddenly two kids were coming out to the top of the bridge, I said ‘what happened?’
“Then they said ‘one of my friends was playing in the water, one of my friends has gone into water and she’s gone underneath and we can’t find her’.”
The girl returned home while the boy told Ms Rajaendram where the incident took place.
Ms Rajaendram then called her neighbour, Kerry Benadjaoud, 62, who took a life ring down to the water but could not see the girl.
A man said he had called the police, Ms Benadjaoud said, adding: “But he said at the time he could see her (the girl’s) hands going down.
“So, by the time I got down there with the ring I couldn’t find her.”
Barge House Causeway is a concrete slope that goes directly into the River Thames and is used to transport boats, and residents pointed out that it appeared to be covered in moss and is slippery.