AN inquest into the death of a Bradford teenager who died at a beauty spot in Bingley is to open this week.
Mohammad Abu Farhan, 14, of Barkerend Road, is thought to have drowned at Goit Stock Waterfall near Cullingworth on March 30.
There was a huge emergency response, with police, the mountain rescue team, ambulance service and fire engines all scrambled to the scene after the teenager entered the water and got into difficulty.
A GoFundMe page was set up in his memory and has so far raised more than £3,600, which will be used to provide food and shelter for orphans in Bangladesh.
The page said: “Abu Farhan was a beautiful 14-year-old boy who lost his life tragically battling under water in Goit Stock waterfalls.
“He had the most angelic smile and was a well-mannered little boy who was always the first to jump up and help.
“Like any normal teen, Abu Farhan was enjoying his time with his friends at the waterfall where he found himself in great difficulty when he got into the water and unfortunately was unable to get to safety.”
It added: “We pray Allah gives the understanding and patience to his parents to deal with this loss. We pray Allah gives the strength to his siblings to get through this tough time.”
Paul Sullivan (Con, Bingley Rural), whose ward incorporates Goit Stock, said the boy’s death was a “tragic loss” and served as “a timely reminder of the dangers of open water” in a Facebook post after the sad news broke.
A picturesque spot along a popular walking route, Goit Stock sees plenty of visitors, particularly in the past year, but with rapidly flowing water and a deep riverbed there are risks to going too far into the waterfall.
Following the teenager’s death, Councillor Naveed Riaz (Con, Bingley Rural) urged people to take “extra precaution” when visiting areas like Goit Stock and that people must learn from the incident.
He said it was a “tragic death” and added: “I think we all need to learn from this, we should take extra precaution and we all need to think sensibly.”
Cllr Sullivan said he had even taken to patrolling the area last year after people came from as far away from Manchester.
“I did some patrols to see for myself, and there were literally hundreds of people there at times,” he said.
As summer nears, their words are an important reminder of the dangers of water and the devastating consequences when people get into difficulty.
West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (WYFRS) attend around 50 water rescue incidents each year and during hot weather, see a rise in these types of rescues.
The figures tend to increase with people entering canals and rivers to cool down and swim. Risks can include cold water shock, items which people can get stuck in, like tree branches and rubbish which may not be visible, as well as undercurrents which have ability to pin people down to the bottom of the riverbed, even if the water appears to be still on the surface.
WYFRS say weirs are to be avoided “at all costs”, with the biggest danger at the bottom in the form of a ‘stopper’, where the recirculating current can pull people back towards the falls and push them under the water.
There is also the risk of contamination from unclean/unsafe water, leading to illness or disease.
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