An 11-year-old girl is missing after she went into the River Thames in east London, police have said.
Metropolitan Police were called to reports the girl had entered the river close to Bargehouse Causeway in North Woolwich, at about 13:15 BST.
A “large scale” search was launched – but it was scaled down a few hours later, with London Ambulance Service (LAS) and London Fire Brigade (LFB) saying the police were now in charge of the operation.
It is believed the girl and some friends were on a slipway by the waterside before the girl went into the water.
Neighbours tried to help after some youngsters raised the alarm.
One woman who lives nearby got a lifeguard ring and ran over – but she said she couldn’t find the girl.
“I found her clothes – socks, shoes and jacket and a mobile phone and gave them to the police.
“There was a little boy with her and he said he tried to hold her hand to pull her out but her hand slipped.
“It was terrible.”
The LFB, which used its drone team and fire boat, said search operations for firefighters concluded at about 15:50 BST, when “responsibility for the incident was left with the police”.
Also in attendance were HM Coastguard, the RNLI, the London Ambulance Service, including a hazardous area response team, and the Metropolitan Police Service.
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