Kaliyah Coa, 11, died due to the cold temperature of the River Thames’ water, according to the initial findings of a coroner’s inquest; she did not drown
“The effect of being in cold water would have caused unconsciousness and death relatively swiftly,” Coroner Graeme Irvine said at a hearing
Coa’s body was found in the river on April 13, two weeks after she was first reported missing on March 31
Kaliyah Coa did not drown, according to the initial findings of a coroner’s inquest.
Irvine was required to have a hearing because the cause of Coa’s cause of death was “unnatural,” and told the court that the provisional cause of death is immersion, the BBC reported. Additional tests still need to be conducted, however, the coroner said.
The East London Coroner’s Court did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Saturday, May 10.
Coa’s body was discovered in Maritime Quay in the morning of April 13, two weeks after she was first reported missing on March 31. On the day Kaliyah went missing, she was off from school, according to police, who previously said she entered the water near the Barge House Causeway.
Two children were seen at the scene trying to get help, according to a witness.
In a statement to the BBC, Coa’s family said that the 11-year-old had gone to a birthday party “and never returned home.”
