Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole: Last words of hero who died saving woman drowning in Thames

Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole, 20, was found dead six hours after going into the water near London Bridge in what police described as a “sheer act of bravery”

Undated family handout photo of Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole (Family handout/PA) (PA Media)

A have-a-go hero who died rescuing a woman who was drowning in the Thames shouted “I’ve got to save her, she is not dying” before he jumped in, an inquest heard today.

Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole, 20, was found dead six hours after going into the water near London Bridge in what police described as a “sheer act of bravery” to aid the 21-year-old woman who survived.

Mr Olubunmi-Adewole, known to friends as Jimi, and his best pal Bernard Kosia were walking across London Bridge just after midnight on 24 April last year when eyewitnesses alerted them to the situation.

He soon saw the woman shouting “Help me! Help me! I can’t swim. I am going to die,” and called 999.

The inquest at Inner South London Coroners Court heard Joaquin Garcia, who saw the woman as he changed buses, jumped in first followed by Mr Olubunmi-Adewole jumped five or 10 seconds later.

Mr Garcia rescued the woman but Jimi began struggling almost straight away after jumping in.

Mr Kosia said Mr Olubunmi-Adewole told him to stay on land because he could not swim, which he did.

He told the hearing in a statement which was read aloud by the coroner: “The whole time Jimi was saying ‘I have got to save her.’

“He was very adamant about it. He was taking off his clothes saying ‘I have to save her, she is not dying.’

“The woman was struggling to stay afloat. I could hear her voice and she wanted to be rescued.

“There was clear pain in her voice and she was struggling.

“Jimi turned around and told me ‘you can’t swim. This man and I can, and we are going to save this woman.

“They counted out to three and jumped in. Mr Garcia jumped first and then Jimi jumped.

“I could see Mr Garcia swimming to the person shouting for help.

“Then around two minutes later he was shouting my name shouting ‘jump’. I could hear him shouting out and I could not see him anywhere.

“I couldn’t see him anywhere. My instinct was to jump, but I could not see him anywhere.

“I told the caller I had an overwhelming desire to jump to try and save my friend, but I could not see him anywhere.

“About one minute later I was shouting ‘stay with me bro’ and then at some point I could no longer hear him.

“About two minutes later police arrived.”

Investigating Officer Detective Sergeant Stefan Yiannaki, of City of London Police, said officers arrived within six minutes of the 999 call being made.

Mr Garcia and the woman were pulled out of the water five minutes later before police helicopters and marine crews began a search for Mr Olubunmi-Adewole, which lasted almost an hour.

DS Yiannaki told the hearing: “Jimi, in a sheer act of bravery, tried to rescue this woman but unfortunately lost his life in the process.”

His brothers, who attended via video link, told the officer they believed the emergency response took too long, given the speed of the response to the London Bridge terror attacks in 2017.

They added the search should not have been called off after 45 minutes to an hour, saying that was “too short” for a human life.

DS Yiannaki said officers arrived within six minutes of the 999 call being made.

His brother asked why his body was found so near to where he had jumped, to which the officer agreed was “a bit unusual”.

A post-mortem by pathologist Professor Sebastian Lucas found Mr Olubunmi-Adewole drowned.

Assistant Coroner Dr Julian Morris, recording a conclusion of accidental death, said Mr Olubunmi-Adewole’s courage in rushing to save the woman was “astonishing”.

He told his brothers: “Jimi’s courage in his decision to jump to try and help a complete stranger was completely astonishing.

“Perhaps we would all like to think we would do the same thing. Few of us would have that courage and determination.

“To lose a 20-year-old man in circumstances such as this is truly tragic. I pass on my heartfelt condolences to all your family.”

He added the emergency service response times were adequate and he did not need to make a prevention of future deaths report.

Mr Olubunmi-Adewole, a former pupil at Harris Academy Peckham in south-east London, was posthumously put forward for a Royal Humane Society award by City of London Police for his “bravery and selfless actions”.

Family ‘so proud’ at posthumous royal honour for man who saved drowning woman

The brother of a man who died after jumping into the River Thames to save a drowning woman has said his family are “so proud” after they collected a posthumous King’s Commendation for Bravery.

Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole was 20 when he jumped into the River Thames by London Bridge after spotting a woman in the water as he walked home from a night shift in April 2021.

His father Michael received the award from the King on behalf of his late son during a ceremony at St James’s Palace on Wednesday.

Folajimi’s brother Ayodeji, 34, told the Press Association: “We are so proud.

“Even the King said it himself, he said, for his age, because he was 20 when the incident happened, so for a young man to risk his life for another means a lot.

Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole died after jumping into the River Thames to save a woman in the water (family handout/PA)
(Family handout)

“I think that that shows who he [Folajimi] is, without me even speaking of him.”

He added that his brother’s first instinct was “to save this person”.

The woman was rescued by the coastguard and marine police but Mr Olubunmi-Adewole’s body was found several hours later.

Ayodeji said receiving the award is “a mixed feeling, sweet and bitter”.

He added: “We say sweet because he got this honour. The bitter aspect because he’s not here to receive the honour itself.”

Also during the ceremony, a motorist who stopped a knife attack on a woman in north London was awarded the King’s Gallantry Medal.

Richard O’Brien saw a man stabbing a woman as he drove past in Barnet in September 2021. He stopped to intervene and held the attacker down until the emergency services arrived.

Richard O’Brien received the King’s Gallantry Medal for intervening in a knife attack (Aaron Chown/PA)
(Aaron Chown)

The woman had been stabbed 10 times when Mr O’Brien, 35, from Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, stopped to help her.

His partner, Natalie Buckingham, told the Press Association: “She’s very grateful. We see her very often.”

The victim only met Mr O’Brien properly after he had given evidence in the trial at the Old Bailey.

She said: “She didn’t know what happened until the court case. It was only then, after she met Richard, that she actually knew who had saved her.

“She was very lucky. You can imagine she’s very grateful for what he’s done.”

Mr O’Brien, a director of an electrical contracting business, said he did not consider “what might have potentially happened to me, getting involved” until he arrived home after the incident.

Also honoured was a West Yorkshire Police officer who saved the life of a woman who had set herself on fire.

Policewoman Rhona Adams was honoured for saving the life of a woman who had had set herself on fire (Aaron Chown/PA)
(Aaron Chown)

Pc Rhona Adams, 29, was called to a McDonald’s outlet in Bradford in June 2024. She used a “piece of kit” from her work lanyard to breach the lock of a disabled toilet and found a woman who was coated in cooking oil and on fire.

Pc Adams, who was awarded a King’s Commendation for Bravery, told PA she “literally just grabbed hold of her and started patting her down with my hands”.

The officer added: “My hands burnt and I eventually went to hospital.

“It’s something that is definitely ingrained in my mind.

“I just decided to touch her and hug her and put her needs before my own.”

On Wednesday’s ceremony, Pc Adams said: “The thing I’m most happy about is that I’m with my mum and my dad. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“As much as it is nice being here, I hope I am never put in the same circumstances again.