Missing River Thames girl: Schoolgirl, 11, who fell into water named

An 11-year-old girl who disappeared after paddling in the River Thames has been named. Kaliyah Coa, aged 11, was last seen in the water with a friend near Woolwich, South East, on Monday afternoon.

Police said officers were close to at about 1.15pm on Monday. Emergency services involving London Ambulance Service, London Fire Brigade and the RNLI, but the search was later scaled down and handed over to the police. The child had been with a young boy and girl on her day off, residents said.

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A recovery mission continued on Tuesday night along the River Thames. Met Police's Chief Superintendent Dan Card, local policing commander for north east London, said: "Our specialist officers are supporting Kaliyah’s family through this deeply upsetting time and our thoughts go out to all those impacted by what has happened.

"We are committed to finding Kaliyah and are working with partners to conduct a thorough search over a wide area – utilising drone and boats. I’d like to thank the members of public, our first responding officers, and colleagues from other emergency services, as they responded rapidly to carry out a large-scale search during a highly pressurised and distressing time.

"Equally we appreciate this has affected the wider community who have been extremely supportive. You will see extra officers in the area during the coming days – if you have any concerns then please speak to them."

Residents described seeing Kaliyah's friends shouting for help after she went missing in the river. the Kerry Benadjaoud, 62, who lives on a road which leads onto a slope into river, said: "My neighbour next door, she was outside doing her garden and there was two little kids running, and they said 'my friend's in the water'." The neighbour called Ms Benadjaoud, who said she then went to pick up a nearby life ring.

The girl had entered the water from Barge House Causeway, which is a concrete slope that goes directly into the River Thames and is used to transport boats, Ms Benadjaoud said. A man told Ms Benadjaoud that he had called the police, she said, adding: "But he said at the time he could see her (the girl's) hands going down. So, by the time I got down there with the ring I couldn't find her."

Ms Benadjaoud said she found shoes, a sock, a coat and a phone near the river, and handed the items to the police. She added: "Apparently she was paddling, so her socks and shoes were off, her coat, then she must have slipped and gone down."

Ms Benadjaoud said she spoke to a child, around eight or nine years old, who had been with the girl. She told PA: "The little boy turned around and said 'I tried to hold her hand but it slipped'. I said to the little boy's parents, obviously he needs to see someone because it's going to affect him later".

Shaleen Rajaendram, 59, who lives on Barge House Road which leads onto the causeway, said: "I heard upstairs a guy was screaming 'wait there, wait, the police is coming'." The man was standing on a balcony in a flat block overlooking the river and later told Ms Rajaendram he had been alerted by the children "shouting, screaming", she said.

Ms Rajaendram continued: "Then I saw suddenly two kids were coming out to the top of the bridge, I said 'what happened?' Then they said 'one of my friends was playing in the water, one of my friends has gone into water and she's gone underneath and we can't find her'." A relative of Kaliyah meanwhile told thethat Kaliyah had only turned 11 last week, and described her as a "beautiful bubbly girl".

• The Mirror is using its platform to launch Missed – a campaign to shine a light on underrepresented public-facing missing persons in the UK via a live interactive map, in collaboration with . Because every missing person, no matter their background or circumstances, is someone’s loved one. And they are always Missed.