Computer science student, 21, drowned on Britain’s hottest day on record when ‘violent’ waves crashed into him while swimming off a pier with friends, inquest hears

• Sujal Sahu, 21,  was in the water with friends near Clacton Pier on July 19 last year
• The computer science student could not swim and got pulled out to sea  

A computer science student drowned on the hottest day of the year after ‘violent’ waves overcame him while paddling.

Sujal Sahu, from Cambridge, got into trouble with five others while in chest height water near Clacton Pier in Clacton On Sea, Essex on July 19 last year.

The current dragged them westerly underneath the pier where the group desperately fought to keep their heads above the water.

Essex Coroner’s Court heard yesterday most of the friends, including 21-year-old Sujal, could not swim.

A statement written by Sujal’s friend, who was part of the group, said: ‘I was in such sheer panic. The waves were continuously crashing into us and taking us into the water.

Sujal Sahu, from Cambridge , got into trouble with five others while in chest height water near Clacton Pier in Clacton On Sea, Essex on July 19 last year

Sujal Sahu drowned after getting into trouble underneath Clacton Pier on July 19, last year

The computer science student, who could not swim, drowned after getting into trouble in the water. His body was recovered three days later following an extensive search 

‘I was drowning; I couldn’t breathe and I genuinely felt I would die.’

The friend said she heard Sujal ‘scream multiple times for help’ as he fought for his life.

CLICK TO READ: Warnings after previous tragic deaths off Clacton Pier  

The Anglia Ruskin University student managed to grab her arm ‘but another large wave crashed into us and he quickly let go’.

Two of the group managed to get themselves to the shore while three others were rescued by emergency crews, but Sujal remained missing.

Desperate attempts to locate him continued for days until his body was spotted face down in the water by a fisherman three miles away near Jaywick’s Martello Tower on the morning of July 23.

Sujal’s body was recovered by the RNLI and found to be in an ‘advanced state of decomposition’.

A post-mortem examination at Colchester Hospital determined Sujal’s cause of death to be drowning.

Senior Coroner for Essex Lincoln Brookes said: ‘It was very hot and there was little wind. I am sure the sea looked very inviting to all of them.

‘The family quite rightly ask: “Why did it have to be our boy who didn’t make it when everyone else survived?”.’

Mr Brookes concluded: ‘The findings I’ve made are clear that this death was due to an accident.

A post-mortem examination at Colchester Hospital determined Sujal’s cause of death to be drowning. Pictured, rescue crews searching for Sujal after he got into trouble

‘What Mr Sahu intended to do was have a refreshing dip in the sea but sadly and unintentionally this led to his death.’

On July 19, 2022, thousands of people went to the beach or to waterways to cool down amid the unprecedented heat.

The mercury hit a 40.3C (104.5F) in Coningsby and 40.2C (104.4F) at London Heathrow Airport at 12.50pm – around an hour after a reading of 39.1C (102.4F) in Charlwood, Surrey, beat the previous all-time UK high of 38.7C (101.7F) in Cambridge in July 2019. In third place is 38.5C (101.3F) in Kent in August 2003, and 38.1C (100.6F) in Suffolk yesterday is fourth.

Roads had buckled in parts of the country as a result of the heat with several train companies forced to pull services following the threat posed by the weather. 

Wildfires were even reported in several parts of the country. 

More than a dozen people died during last year’s heatwave – several of them after getting into difficulty while swimming or near water.  

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