Inquest confirms 14-year-old who died in river near Donnington Bridge had drowned
The coroner's court heard that four children got into difficulty in the water, with three rescued by a member of the public
An inquest into the death of 14-year-old Baltazar Cabral Lay da Costa has revealed that he drowned while playing with friends in the River Thames near Donnington Bridge, Oxford, on 27th May 2026.
The court heard how Baltazar, who was originally from Timor-Leste, and six others aged roughly 12-14 were playing ball games in a shallow area of the river at around 4pm.
Witness statements from the children said the ball was accidentally hit into a deeper area, prompting two of them to venture out to retrieve it.
Baltazar and one other attempted to assist them when they began to struggle and found themselves in difficulty too.
Two members of the public were then alerted to the incident, with a man going into the river to rescue three of the children, but Baltazar could not be found.
Emergency services were called at 5:19pm and he was then recovered from the water at around 6pm.
After an hour of resuscitation efforts, Baltazar was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
Coroner Nicholas Graham concluded the inquest by saying: “There is very little I can say that will offer any comfort, but I would like to offer my condolences to the family.
"I know that you have the support of your wider family and community as well. I hope that will help you in this very very sad and difficult time.”