Jimi Olubunmi-Adewole: Thames rescuer died in act of bravery

Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole jumped into the water to help a woman who fell from London Bridge

A young man who jumped into the Thames to save a woman died following a "sheer act of bravery", an inquest has heard.

Folajimi "Jimi" Olubunmi-Adewole, 20, was on his way home from work in April 2021 when at about midnight he went into the water with another would-be rescuer, Joaquim Garcia.

The woman and Mr Garcia were saved by the coastguard and marine police but Mr Olubunmi-Adewole could not be found.

His body was recovered about six hours later, near London Bridge.

Assistant coroner Dr Julian Morris concluded at Inner London Coroner's Court: "This was a sad loss of a young man who wanted to help, in an emergency, a member of the public who had fallen into the Thames."

He said his death was accidental, adding: "The courage to jump to help a complete stranger in the Thames at night is quite astonishing.

"Many of us would like to think we would do the same in that situation, but few of us would have the courage and determination."

The court heard how Mr Olubunmi-Adewole had been walking over the bridge with his friend Bernard Kosia after their shift ended.

Mr Kosia said the pair were alerted by two other men to the woman in the water.

Bernard Kosia, Jimi's best friend, did not jump into the water because he cannot swim

After hearing the woman screaming out "I can't swim, I'm going to die", they called the police.

Mr Kosia's statement said: "Jimi was saying, 'We've got to save her, she's not dying', he was very adamant about this."

A post-mortem examination found Mr Olubunmi-Adewole died as a result of drowning, with no other conditions found to have impaired him.

Mr Garcia said in a witness statement that the woman was "in the water, splashing around" and calling for help about 100m from the riverbank.

Mr Olubunmi-Adewole and Mr Garcia then counted to three and jumped in, with Mr Garcia reaching the woman. Mr Olubunmi-Adewole was not seen alive again.

Det Sgt Stefan Yiannaki, from City of London Police, giving evidence, said: "It was a sheer act of bravery trying to help the woman and losing his life in the process."

Listening to the inquest remotely was Mr Olubunmi-Adewole's brother Ayo, who asked Det Sgt Yiannaki why the police response had been slow.

He said: "If the police had done their job right I don't think Jimi would have jumped in."

Assistant coroner Dr Morris, however, said the search by officers was "adequate" and the search was carried out "effectively and sufficiently".

"Sadly Jimi fell outside the 99% possibility of detection," he added.

Mr Olubunmi-Adewole was posthumously put forward for a Royal Humane Society award by City of London Police to honour his "memory and heroism" for his "bravery and selfless actions".