A 19-year-old student, Evan d'Andilly, tragically drowned in the River Ouse in York after a night out with friends in March 2025, an inquest has heard. CCTV footage presented at North Yorkshire Coroner's Court showed Mr d'Andilly, from Scunthorpe, struggling to stay afloat and calling for help for an estimated 20 minutes while a police officer on the riverbank informed him that assistance was on its way. He disappeared beneath the surface before a rescue vessel could reach him.
Mr d'Andilly, a University of York student, had entered the river from a bridge around 03:03. Call logs indicate that the volunteer-run York Rescue Boat was made aware of the incident between 03:08 and 03:11. Meanwhile, the fire service's vessel, which was notified at 03:07, had to be dispatched from Selby and did not arrive at the scene until 03:37, by which point Mr d'Andilly was no longer visible, having last been seen at 03:23.
During the inquest, North Yorkshire Police officers attempted to throw a rescue line to Mr d'Andilly, but he was in the middle of the river channel, making it impossible for the line to reach him. One officer was reportedly heard questioning the delay in the arrival of a rescue boat. Mr d'Andilly's mother, Lorraine, thanked the officers who tried to help her son but also raised concerns about a potential delay in contacting the nearest rescue boat.
Mr d'Andilly's family described him as a "water baby" and expressed their profound grief, calling his death an "unfathomable, senseless tragedy." His mother found it difficult to reconcile his death by drowning given his comfort and skill in water. His father, Gordon d'Andilly, told the coroner that his son was "unique, intelligent, happy and quick-witted," and, despite having experienced some mental health issues, had appeared to be in good spirits and had "turned a corner" before his death.