Shocked residents and boaters react as three teens tragically dead after car plunges into River Wear

Shocked local residents have been reacting to news that three teenagers have tragically died after a car entered the River Wear close to Wearmouth Bridge.

Yesterday evening (September 29) Northumbria Police confirmed three teenagers - two boys and a girl - had tragically died after a car is reported to have gone into the River Wear at around 1.30pm.

The incident sparked a huge response from Northumbria Police, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, the North East Ambulance Service, and the RNLI.

Northumbria Police have also confirmed a fourth teenager, a 17-year-old boy, managed to reach safety and has been arrested.

The incident took place close to the University of Sunderland’s halls of residence.

Twenty one-year-old student, Jakob Honing, saw the huge emergency response unfold.

He said: “My room overlooks the dock where the incident happened. It was after I heard sirens that I looked out of my window and saw a lot of police officers and an ambulance. I could see people were searching the water and so I assumed someone had fallen into the river.

“When I went out to go to university, I noticed a lot of the streets were cordoned off, which was concerning as to what had happened - I’ve never seen a police incident on that scale.

“I was shocked when I found out three people had died.”

It’s sentiment shared by fellow halls of residence student, Anais Champetier, 19, who said: “I was in my room yesterday when I heard a helicopter and all the sirens. It went on for a long time, and I didn’t know what was going on.

“To hear three teenagers have died is shocking - a massive tragedy.”

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Masie Parkes, 18, added: “I had heard all the sirens from my room and I set off for university not long after the incident had happened. On the way back, I couldn’t get into my flat as the road had been cordoned off - it was all quite frightening at the time.

“When I found out last night that three teenagers had died, I was totally shocked. What has happened is awful - you just don’t expect something like this. They were around my age and so it’s quite upsetting.”

Anjali Richards also had to change her route due to large areas being cordoned off by the police.

She said: “At the time I was confused about what had happened. All the students in the halls are in shock. It’s crazy that something like this can happen and I really feel for the families.”

Boaters recall harrowing rescue attempt

One boater who asked not to be named said: “I was about 100 metres away when I saw the car go into the water. I jumped into my motorised dinghy, but by the time we got there the car had gone and couldn’t be seen. I saw one person had manged to get out through the window.

“We circled the area in the hope we saw people come to the surface. It has hit everyone involved hard and last night I was in total shock and really shook up by what happened.”

A fellow boater who also asked not to be named added: “This is a tragic event and three families will have a knock on the door that no one wants.”