Teenager who fled Taliban drowned in Bedford river while swimming during heatwave

A teenage Afghan refugee who had fled the Taliban drowned while swimming in a river during the summer heatwave, an inquest has heard.

Haroon Armani, 18, was in the River Great Ouse at Cardington Lock in Bedford with a friend when he got into trouble and went under the water.

A boy and girl dived in to try to find him, but were unsuccessful.

They called 999 and the teenager was pulled from the water, and died in hospital the following morning.

The cause of death was multiple organ failure as a result of drowning, an inquest in Ampthill heard.Haroon and a friend had gone into the water on the afternoon of Friday, 16 June.

He had been used to swimming at a pool in a local gym, but it was not known if he had ever swum in open water, the court was told.

Social worker Roseanne Johnstone from Bedford Borough Council said Haroon had arrived in the UK in August 2021 as an unaccompanied adult.

He had fled Afghanistan because he feared the Taliban as members of his family had been in the army.

With a group from Afghanistan, he had travelled to Pakistan through Iran and Turkey.

They were smuggled in trucks through Bulgaria, Serbia Slovenia, Italy and France, and lived in the migrant camp in Calais known as The Jungle before going on a small boat across the channel.

In December 2022, Haroon had been granted leave to remain in the UK.

He was living in the Embankment in the town and was attending Luton’s Barnfield College. His ambition was to be a police officer, the inquest heard.

Ms Johnstone said: “He was a fit healthy, very active young man. He had always got a smile on his face.”

Bedfordshire Senior Coroner Emma Whitting concluded that he died of misadventure.

She said: “In hot weather he entered water of the Great Ouse. Whilst he was familiar with swimming indoors, the extent of his experience and knowledge of open water was unknown.”

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