Man drowned after going into water ‘up to his knees’ at waterfall
A MAN drowned after he was pulled under a waterfall by a current at Pontneddfechan while holidaying with friends, an inquest has heard.
Hemanta Kumar Rai, 28, could not swim and had gone into the water at Sgwd Gwladys “up to his knees” when, shortly after, a friend who was with him heard him shouting for help.
The inquest, held at Pontypridd Coroners’ Court, heard Mr Rai, of Woodvale Road, Farnborough, had travelled to the waterfall with a group of friends on the final day of their holiday in South Wales on August 16, 2021, and were due to travel home that evening.
A statement from Sorab Rai, who the inquest heard was a “close friend”, said he and Hemanta Rai had walked ahead of the group, arriving at the waterfall first, and that Hemanta Rai could not swim.
The statement read that Sorab Rai, who entered the water to swim, could see Hemanta Rai walking around in the water “which was just up to his knees”.
However, the inquest heard that when Sorab Rai turned around again, he could no longer see his friend and said he heard him shouting for help.
The inquest heard Sorab Rai could then see Hemanta Rai “struggling in the water.”
When Sorab Rai went over to help, Hemanta Rai “began to panic” and pulled him under, causing Sorab Rai to lose his grip.
The statement said Hemanta Rai was pulled under the waterfall, and Sorab Rai did not see him come back up.
When friends arrived, 999 was called, with a statement from PC Ryan Blackburn saying he was made aware of a male drowning at 1.17pm.
The inquest heard the group of friends tied towels together to form a rope in an attempt to help Mr Rai but he did not come back up.
PC Blackburn said he was provided with a What Three Words location and met colleagues at the Angel Inn before heading towards the location of the group.
After arriving at the scene, PC Blackburn said the “river appeared reasonably slow moving” but he was “unable to see below the surface level of the water”.
More police were called to the scene and the fire service was requested, who arrived “a long time later”.
The inquest heard Mr Rai’s body was located under the waterfall and local officers and the fire service conducted CPR for “some time” before South Wales
Police was stood down.
A statement from Constable Adam Kadiri said he was on duty on the day when he was advised a man had been retrieved from the water.
CPR was being performed and he was told by Sorab Rai that his friend had only gone into the water up to his knees because he could not swim.
The inquest heard the body was examined and there were no other injuries to indicate foul play.
Mr Rai’s body was transferred to Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil.
He had “no significant medical history” and was not taking regularly prescribed medication at the time of his death, the inquest heard.
A toxicology report found no drugs, alcohol, or ethanol in Mr Rai’s system.
A post-mortem examination conducted by Dr Jason Shannon found there was no evidence of significant internal or external injury and there were features consistent with immersion in water and drowning.
The medical cause of death was given as drowning.
Born in Hong Kong, Mr Rai was the youngest in his family.
He moved to the UK when he was 14, and completed his education in Fernhill, Farnborough, later graduating from Southampton Solent University in 2016. He was a service desk analyst for Capita.
A statement from Mr Rai’s older sister, Deepa Rai, said he had “no health or mental health problems” and he tried to use his free time to read books, as well as jogging daily and going to the gym.
Ms Rai’s statement said her younger brother was planning to run his first half marathon in August 2021. She said her brother was “appreciative of everything our parents did for us. He loved spending time with friends and family”.
Rachel Knight, assistant coroner for the South Wales Central area, recorded a conclusion of accidental death. Addressing Mr Rai’s family, who were present at the inquest via video link, she added that she planned to issue a regulation 28 prevention of future death report and “ask for signage to be changed to be clearer and in plain English spelling out the danger”.
“I can’t stop people going in but I can make them aware of the danger and the risk,” she said.