Search for girl 11 missing after entering River Thames

An 11-year-old girl is missing after she went into the River Thames in east London, according to police.

The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to reports that the girl had entered the river close to Barge House Causeway, near London City Airport, at about 1.15pm on Monday.

Emergency services launched a “large-scale response” to the incident, the force said, but the search was later scaled down, with London Ambulance Service (LAS), London Fire Brigade (LFB) and the RNLI saying crews had been stood down.

The girl’s next of kin have been made aware and are being supported by officers.

LAS was called at a similar time to police after receiving a report of a person in the water at Lowestoft Mews, close to the airport.

“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an advanced paramedic, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team,” a spokesperson said.

“Our crews assisted our emergency services partners at the scene but were later stood down.”

LFB Deputy Assistant Commissioner Joseph Kenny said: “Firefighters responded to reports of a person in the River Thames near Lowestoft Mews, Newham.

“Crews from East Ham, Barking, Ilford and Bexley fire stations were sent to the scene alongside crews from the HM Coastguard, RNLI, London Ambulance Service and the Metropolitan Police Service.

“The brigade also deployed its drone team and fire boat as part of its response, with crews carrying out a systematic search of the area.

“The brigade was first called about the incident at 13:23. Search operations for firefighters were concluded at 15:49 when responsibility for the incident was left with the police.”

A spokesperson for the RNLI said: “Tower RNLI was requested to launch this afternoon (March 31) to an incident near Woolwich.

“The lifeboat was later stood down.”

Published: 31/03/2025 by Radio NewsHub