The Scottish Mail on Sunday

Tragic Evha was killed by theme park boat

- By Abul Taher and Ross Slater

A SCHOOLGIRL who fell into the water at a theme park ride was killed when a boat crashed into her as she tried to get out, according to a source close to the investigat­ion into the tragedy.

Evha Jannath, 11, died after she fell from her dinghy on the Splash Canyon ride while on a school outing to Drayton Manor, Staffordsh­ire. The revelation suggests Evha could have survived had staff brought the ride to an emergency stop in time and prevented the halfton dinghy ploughing into her. It had earlier been believed the schoolgirl from Leicester’s Jameah Girls Academy had hit her head after falling in while trying to swap seats, or had drowned in up to 5ft of water.

However, The Mail on Sunday has learned the water depth would have been little more than 20in. A fellow pupil in the boat with Evha told ITV News she had thought she would not be harmed just moments before she was killed, saying: ‘I was really shocked. I saw Evha in the water and I thought it was nothing major.’

A post-mortem examinatio­n found that Evha died from chest injuries. An inquest has been formally opened by Staffordsh­ire’s Coroner.

Drayton Manor would not comment while an investigat­ion was ongoing.

 ??  ?? RIDE DEATH: Evha Jannath
RIDE DEATH: Evha Jannath

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