Teenager's river death ruled accidental

A teenager who drowned while swimming with friends in a town's beauty spot has had his death ruled accidental by a coroner.

Ronalds Abele, 17, was part of a group of seven swimming in the River Nene at Wellingborough Embankment on 10 May 2024 when he got into difficulty while racing.

His friend Levi Barnes, 19, told the inquest in Northampton in a statement that the pair had swum at the location many times before and Ronalds had never struggled.

Ronalds' mother, Laura Kirsteine, described her son as "quiet but playful" with ambitions to work in the motor trade, adding that his death was "devastating".

The court heard that fire crews from Rushden and Irthlingborough, and a specialist team from Mereway fire station, joined paramedics and police in the operation to rescue the teenager at about 13:45 BST.

Ronalds was airlifted to Northampton General Hospital but was declared dead at 15:55.

The inquest was told Ronalds, a former Wrenn School and Tresham College pupil, had been part of a group swimming near the canoe portage point away from the lock when he started to struggle.

Barnes tried to help but was pushed under as his friend "thrashed" in the water, it heard.

The 19-year-old described seeing Ronalds' head being "completely submerged" before briefly surfacing, before going under again.

Ronalds' girlfriend Kyra James said in a statement that "every time he [Ronalds] went underneath, less of him would come up".

"We couldn't see where he had gone because the water was too dark and dirty," she said.

Ronalds' cause of death was confirmed as drowning.

Since the incident, the Environment Agency has installed additional safety measures at the site, including warning signs, life buoys and throwlines, although some have been vandalised.

New combination-lock life buoys are expected to be installed later this year.

Ending the inquest, senior coroner for Northamptonshire, Anne Pember, recorded a conclusion of accidental death.

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