The body of a man has been found in the River Thames as police searched for a swimmer who went missing on the hottest day of the year.
A huge hunt was underway after a man got ‘into difficulty’ in the waters Barge Walk, Kingston upon Thames, at around 6.41pm yesterday when temperatures hit 27.5C.
Scotland Yard has confirmed the body of a man was recovered from the waters at around 12.20pm on Monday.
Although formal identification is yet to take place, officers believe it is the man who entered the water yesterday.
Photos from the scene show police and ambulance scouring the side of the river, which was heaving with sun-dwellers soaking up the balmy weather.
Search and rescue teams along the Thames in Kingston search for a missing swimmer
A huge search was launched which includes the Marine Policing officers, London Ambulance Service, London Fire Brigade, the RNLI and the National Police Air Service
A spokesperson for Scotland Yard said: ‘Police were called at 6.41pm on Sunday, 12 May to the river at Barge Walk, Kingston. It was reported that a man had got into difficulty after entering the water to swim.
‘Marine Policing officers, London Ambulance Service, London Fire Brigade, the RNLI and the National Police Air Service all searched the area.
‘At around 12.20pm on Monday, 13 May, the body of a man was recovered by police officers from the river at Barge Walk, Kingston.
‘Formal identification awaits, however officers believe this is the man who entered the water on Sunday.’
Jadine Brunsdon, who works at a bar near where the man went into the water, was sitting by the river side with a friend watching people swimming at the time.
She told BBC News: ‘We noticed them going in. Then about half an hour later we saw police cars and ambulances driving down.’
The swimmer went missing in the Thames on the hottest day of the year. One eyewitness had been watching a group in the waters when about 30 minutes later police cars and ambulances arrived
A man was seen getting into difficulty in the waters off Barge Walk, Kingston upon Thames
Britons enjoyed the hottest day of the year yesterday, with record temperatures for 2024 broken three times in the last week, with the mercury peaking at a blistering 27.5C in Chertsey, Surrey.
The UK’s glorious weekend weather came to a crashing halt with forecasters predicting a two-day washout from today.
The forecaster predicted parts of south-west England, south Wales, and Northern Ireland will be worst hit, with some yellow weather warnings in place until tomorrow night.
It added local transport networks may face disruption, with up to 8mm of rainfall per hour at times.