Paddleboarding victim named as three die and one fights for life after river incident
A man and two women have died and another woman is fighting for her life after a group of paddleboarders got into difficulties on a river in Wales, police have confirmed.
Emergency services first received reports of people in distress in the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest shortly after 9am on Saturday. A huge search and rescue operation was launched, with dozens of firefighters, police officers, medics and other experts sent to the scene.
“The exact circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated, but it is believed that the group got into difficulty in the water,” Dyfed-Powys Police said in a statement on Sunday. “Two women and a man died at the scene, and a woman remains in a critical condition in hospital. A further five people were rescued without injury.”
Officers have said the exact circumstances of what happened are not yet known. Pics: Martin Cavaney
Paul O’Dwyer, from Salty Dog Co, a surf-style clothing and paddleboarding company based in Port Talbot, has been named as one of the three who died. The company tweeted a message saying “goodbye to our salty dog Paul” on Saturday evening.
Severe rain had meant the river was flooded and had become turbulent when the group got into difficulties. A member of the public is believed to have entered the water to attempt a rescue, but later got out safely.
Thirty firefighters from Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, including specialist wading crews and swift water rescue technicians, were among those involved in the rescue, police said. Two fire boats were launched to assist with bank and river searches, with crews working closely with Coastguard teams.
The National Police Air Service, Coastguard and Wales Air Ambulance also provided helicopter support, while the Angle RNLI lifeboat was also deployed.
More than 20 police officers also attended the scene, which was cordoned off until about 5pm, the force said, along with paramedics.
The paddleboarders are said to have been a part of the South Wales Paddle Boarders. They were from different areas across South Wales and were on an annual tour, spending the weekend together to explore the river.
Police said the injured woman is being treated at Withybush Hospital. No further details about her condition have been released.
One of the members said she had pulled out of the paddle on the morning of the incident as she was concerned about the conditions, according to PA.
Vickie Mckinven, from Milford Haven, told the news agency they were all good friends who “did so much to raise money for charities” and that the deaths were “absolutely heartbreaking”.
Dyfed-Powys Police have not yet released the names of those who have died but said their next of kin are being supported by specialist officers.
Emergency services pictured at the river. Pic: Martin Cavaney
Detective Chief Inspector Jonathan Rees said a full investigation was already under way but at this stage his thoughts were “focused on the loved ones of those who had died and the injured paddleboarder who remains in hospital”.
Sky News correspondent Helen-Ann Smith, who has been at the scene over the weekend, said the River Cleddau was still flowing “incredibly quickly” on Sunday morning.
“They had very heavy rain here on Friday and some real sudden downpours on Saturday morning, I understand, and potentially at about the sort of time that the paddleboards were getting into the river.
“The police say that they have accounted for everybody, the search has now been called off, and that they’re supporting the members of the family and next of kin of those who have very sadly died.”
A judo Olympian has said her family is “devastated” after the discovery of body in the search for her missing brother.
Lubjana Piovesana, 28, appealed for help to find her younger sibling, Luis, 26, on Saturday. He had not been seen since the early hours of Friday morning.
A body was found in the River Frome near Napier Road in Eastville, Bristol, at around 6pm today, Avon and Somerset Police said.
Formal identification is yet to take place, the force added.
In a post on Instagram, Ms Piovesana wrote: “Hello everyone, Luis has been found.
“We are completely devastated but he has passed away.
“I am grateful for everyone’s support. And I am so sorry this happened.
“Luis was my little brother and loved by everyone. I wish he could have seen the love from everyone. He will be remembered by us all.”
The post was signed off with a dove emoji.
Luis Piovesana did not have any money or his mobile phone with him when he went missing, police said. Pics: Avon & Somerset Police
Mr Piovesana was last seen at around 3am on Friday at the Eastgate retail park, which is less than a 10-minute walk away from where the body was found.
He had travelled there by taxi from a venue in Little Ann Street, St Jude’s, a 10-minute drive away.
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The 26-year-old’s family spent the weekend searching for him, and asked people to check their sheds and gardens.
His partner, Laurin Bohler, said loved ones had travelled from Birmingham to help.
Mounted officers and police drones were also involved in the investigation.
Ms Piovesana competed for Team GB before switching to the Austrian team, and defeated British competitor Lucy Renshall in the women’s -63kg judo event at the Paris Olympics last year.
A man has been jailed for life for murdering his son’s girlfriend after she returned home from the school run.
Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police were called to an address on Bigyn Road in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, on 5 July last year.
Sophie Evans, 30, had sustained 72 separate injuries on the outside of the body, “all but three of them new injuries”.
Richard Jones, who is now 50, believed he was “being taken advantage of financially” by Ms Evans and his son, with whom she was in a relationship.
While the purpose of Jones’s visit was “purely normal”, he confronted her on that morning about his suspicions and Ms Evans’s reaction was such that Jones “lost [his] temper”.
He subjected Ms Evans to “gross violence” before ultimately strangling her and leaving the property to run errands, including ordering a new bank card and buying pastries from a bakery.
Richard Jones. Pic: Dyfed-Powys Police
‘Last time on their school run’
During sentencing on Monday, the defendant kept his head bowed for most of the hearing.
He will have to serve at least 20 years behind bars before he can be considered for release by the parole board.
Swansea Crown Court heard Ms Evans was the mother of two young children.
Passing his sentence, Judge Geraint Walters said Ms Evans “had just taken her two children for the last time on their school run” prior to the attack.
“She wasn’t to know that when she parted company with them that morning,” he added.
The court heard the Jones believed he was being defrauded by Ms Evans and his son.
“There is clear evidence, that in the days leading up to this, that you had begun harbouring thoughts that Sophie Evans and your own son were in fact financially scamming you,” he said.
“What precisely brought about that view is difficult to determine.”
Judge Walters said Jones “lost [his] temper when [he] didn’t get the answer that [he] thought [he] deserved”.
He added that, having lost his temper, the defendant “subjected [Ms Evans] to gross violence over a period of time, before you ultimately extinguished her life by strangulation”.
The court was told in evidence that at the time of the attack, Ms Evans was wearing only a bath towel.
‘The rock of our family’
In a victim personal statement, Ms Evans’s sister Kerry Quinlan told the court she was “the rock of our family”.
She said Ms Evans was taken from them in a “senseless and cruel act”.
“Words cannot express fully how much of a loss this has been to her children,” she added.
“When they cry themselves to sleep wanting their mum, she isn’t there and never will be.”
Ms Quinlan added that Jones had “taken everything from us, all in the most despicable way possible”.
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Ms Evans’s partner at the time, and the defendant’s son, Jamie Davies, said in a victim personal statement, read on his behalf, that they had both “trusted” Jones, and that Ms Evans had even been planning the defendant’s 50th birthday.
“The thought of having to live my life without Sophie causes me extreme pain and heartache,” he added.
Prosecuting, Michael Jones KC said the offence was aggravated by the defendant’s previous convictions and the fact Ms Evans was murdered in her home.
In mitigation, David Elias KC said there was a “lack of premeditation”.
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