Bodies recovered from the River Thames from 2013 to 2023

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.24.036362

I note you seek access to the following information:

How many bodies have been recovered from the River Thames that remain unidentified over the last 10 years? Could I please have a breakdown of suspected age, gender, ethnicity and location from where they were recovered.

Please could this information be broken down annually in a table format, with a column for each year from 2013 - 2024.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

Please be aware that the information provided is only for body recoveries that involve the Marine Policing Unit who would be the main unit that would be contacted in this scenario.

There may be occasions where local officers might have been informed of a body located on the foreshore and if the Marine Unit are not required, they may not always be called or the officers may be assisted by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) or the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

However, usually a person sighted in the water will routinely be passed to the Marine Unit, the coastguard, local landside officers and possibly the helicopter etc.

If it is established that the individual found is deceased the Marine Unit would usually recover the body and officers would then attend (or take over at the scene) to further investigate the death.

Please note that the ages supplied are estimates based on presentation at the time of recovery.

The ethnicity of individual is notoriously difficult to establish correctly upon recovery from water.

2014 – 0
2015 – 0
2016 – 1 Male 35-55 yrs Found on the foreshore at Greenwich SE10
2017 – 1 Male 40-50 yrs Found on the foreshore near St Katherine’s Dock
2018 – 0
2019 – 1 – Male 30-40 Floating near Reed Wharf SE1
2020 – 0
2021 – 0
2022 – 0
2023 - 0