Christopher Kapessa: Passer-by tried to help in drowned boy's rescue

Friends of Christopher Kapessa told the inquest they were aware he could not swim

An off-duty fire officer who drove past the river where a teenage boy died, tried to help in the rescue, an inquest has heard.

Paul Davies said he saw a group of distressed youngsters at the River Cynon near Fernhill, Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Christopher Kapessa, who was 13, drowned on July 1, 2019, after a boy allegedly pushed him off a ledge.

The boy has denied deliberately pushing him and claimed he slipped into him by accident.

An extensive search of the river was made between Mountain Ash and Cwmbach after the incident was reported, involving police, firefighters, paramedics, and an emergency helicopter.

After Christopher was found, he was taken to the Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil but was later pronounced dead.

Mr Davies, a watch manager with the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, told the inquest at Pontypridd Coroners' Court on Monday he had been working in Cardiff and was driving home when he passed a small layby near Mountain Ash Hospital.

Christopher Kapessa drowned in the River Cynon on 1 July 2019

"As I came past that, I saw maybe three children in the trees distressed," he said.

He said he then saw a larger group of children, "maybe 10 to 15 children on the side of the road, significantly distressed".

"I pulled over because I just knew something was wrong," he told the inquest.

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"I got out the vehicle to address some of the children asking what was the matter… Some of them shouted their friend was in the river," he added.

Mr Davies said he ran through the trees from the road to the river and the children followed him.

"I looked over the bridge and I could see there was no-one in the river. I turned to a little boy and asked where he saw his friend last. He couldn't tell me really," he said.

Mr Davies said he entered the water up to his waist, along with a paramedic and then firefighters.

He left two hours later after specialist crews with cameras and wetsuits arrived, before Christopher was found.

An investigation was launched into the death of the year eight Mountain Ash Comprehensive School pupil.

Christopher's mother, Alina Joseph, has also accused the police of institutional racism and of failing to properly investigate what had happened, claiming enquiries stopped after a day when it was decided her son's death had been an accident.

In January 2022, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to prosecute a teenager who was alleged to have pushed Christopher into the water.

The CPS said a prosecution was not in the public interest.

Ms Joseph later challenged that decision at a High Court hearing in London but two judges ruled against her.

The inquest continues.