Man drowned on hottest day of year after going missing near pier, inquest told

A 21-year-old man drowned on the hottest day of the year after going missing off the Essex coast, an inquest has heard.

Sujal Sahu, from Cambridge, disappeared in the sea around Clacton Pier on 19 July, when temperatures in parts of the country topped 40C.

Four days later, his body was found face-down several miles away off the coast of Jaywick, near the village’s Martello Tower.

Essex Coroner’s Court heard that a postmortem examination at Colchester Hospital, concluded that Mr Sahu had drowned, pending a toxicology report.

The inquest was adjourned until July next year, although senior coroner Lincoln Brookes indicated this was a “backstop date” that could be brought forward.

On the same day that Mr Sahu disappeared, five swimmers near the pier were pulled from the sea and taken to hospital after getting into difficulties.

At least 14 people, many of whom were in their teens, are thought to have died in open water during last month’s heatwave.

The youngest of them – 13-year-old Robert Hattersley – drowned in the River Tyne near Ovingham, Northumberland.