Drowned student waited 20 minutes for help in river

A student who drowned in a river tried to remain afloat for 20 minutes while shouting for help that did not arrive in time, an inquest has heard.

Evan Geoffrey d'Andilly, 19, entered the River Ouse from a bridge in York after a night out with friends in the city in March 2025.

North Yorkshire Coroner's Court was shown CCTV footage of d'Andilly, from Scunthorpe, calling for help as a police officer on the bank told him help was on its way. He disappeared beneath the surface before a rescue boat reached the scene.

The University of York student was described as a "water baby" by his family, who said his death was an "unfathomable, senseless tragedy".

North Yorkshire Police officers were unable to successfully throw a rescue line to d'Andilly as he was in the middle of the river channel and it could not reach him, the inquest heard.

One of the officers in the footage was heard questioning why it was taking so long for a rescue boat to arrive.

Call logs suggested the volunteer-run York Rescue Boat were made aware of the incident between 03:08 and 03:11, after d'Andilly had entered the water at 03:03. He could no longer be seen after 03:23.

The fire service's vessel was notified at 03:07 but had to be deployed from Selby and arrived at 03:37.

In a statement read to the hearing, a student and friend of d'Andilly described how they had been drinking in the city centre and walking and "the next thing Evan had gone over the bridge".

The friend said: "It all happened so fast, there was no indication he was going to do this."

D'Andilly's mother, Lorraine, asked for the full CCTV footage to be played at the hearing, which showed her son crossing the bridge with friends before entering the water.

He could later be seen in the water with his arms moving as police officers shone torches towards him from the bank.

His mother thanked the officers who tried to help her son but also said she was "making the assumption there was a delay in calling for the closest rescue boat".

The officers agreed with her when she asked them if "the effort Evan put in to survive, increased the window for him to be rescued".

His father Gordon d'Andilly told the coroner his son was "unique, intelligent, happy and quick-witted" and that he had experienced some issues with his mental health but appeared on good form before his death and had "turned a corner".

His mother added: "He was in his element in the water...it is hard to believe my little water baby died from drowning."

The two-day inquest will resume on Wednesday.

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