A rope swing over the River Tyne, in Northumberland, England, was the favorite pastime of a group of 20 friends that May 18, 2024. David Radut, 14, could not swim. When he let go of the rope on his second attempt, he fell into deep water and cried out for help.
Aras Rudzianskas, just 13, did not think twice and jumped in after him. But David’s panic pulled him under the water again and again. One friend tried to hold on to him from the riverbank, until he too began to be dragged by the current.
A woman who was paddleboarding nearby found a body floating and at first thought it was a pale rock. She managed to resuscitate Aras with her own hands, but the boy died three days later in the hospital. David was found hours later, 21 meters downstream from where it all began.