Person    | Male  Born 16/3/2001  Died 24/4/2021

Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole

Categories: Tragedy

Countries: Nigeria

From Southwark News: Jimi " who died aged 20 in April last year after jumping into the Thames from London Bridge to save a woman struggling in the water, was a regular at the Salmon Youth Centre on Old Jamaica Road." He lived on the Neckinger Estate.

From BBC: "Folajimi "Jimi" Olubunmi-Adewole, 20, was on his way home from work in April 2021 when at about midnight he went into the water with another would-be rescuer, Joaquim Garcia. The woman and Mr Garcia were saved by the coastguard and marine police but Mr Olubunmi-Adewole could not be found. His body was recovered about six hours later, near London Bridge. The court heard how Mr Olubunmi-Adewole had been walking over the bridge with his friend Bernard Kosia after their shift ended. Mr Kosia said the pair were alerted by two other men to the woman in the water. After hearing the woman screaming out "I can't swim, I'm going to die", they called the police. Mr Kosia's statement said: "Jimi was saying, 'We've got to save her, she's not dying', he was very adamant about this." A post-mortem examination found Mr Olubunmi-Adewole died as a result of drowning, with no other conditions found to have impaired him. Mr Garcia said in a witness statement that the woman was "in the water, splashing around" and calling for help about 100m from the riverbank. Mr Olubunmi-Adewole and Mr Garcia then counted to three and jumped in, with Mr Garcia reaching the woman. Mr Olubunmi-Adewole was not seen alive again."

The Evening Standard adds that the incident happened at about midnight. We thought the men had jumped from the bridge but the plaque in Cathedral Square says they jumped "from this place".

We do hope Garcia's courage has not been overlooked in the grieving for Olubunmi-Adewole.

Our colleague, Andrew Behan, states that from the Find a Grave website we learn that he was born on 16 March 2001 in Nigeria and that his funeral took place at Camberwell New Cemetery and Crematorium, Brenchley Gardens, London, SE23 3RD. His date of birth is confirmed in the England and Wales, Death Indexes, 1989-2021.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole

Commemorated ati

Folajimi Olubumni-Adewole - SE1

Jimi #hero Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole, a resident of Southwark, lived in Bermo...

Read More

Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole - SE16

{The portrait image is a mosaic of photos of people (presumably members of th...

Read More

Other Subjects

Francis Dunn

Francis Dunn

Role on the lost expedition: Petty officer on SS Erebus. See John Franklin.

Person, Exploring, Tragedy

1 memorial
Peter Pain

Peter Pain

A Huguenot refugee from Dieppe. He, along with his family and a French minister were killed by a massive gunpowder explosion at the Temple Mills in Leyton in 1690. Wikipedia puts the explosion "on ...

Person, Industry, Tragedy, France

1 memorial
Anthony Lucius Byczkowski

Anthony Lucius Byczkowski

Anthony Lucius Byczkowski was born on 26 September 1955, the only son of the four children of Zbigniew Kazimierz Byczkowski (1911-1970) and Freda J. F. Byczkowski née Chapman who had married in the...

Person, Tragedy

1 memorial
Jean Charles de Menezes

Jean Charles de Menezes

Born Brazil.  Electrician.  Shot dead in a tube carriage by counter-terrorist police officers hunting for would-be suicide bombers who had attempted to attack the London transport system the day be...

Person, Tragedy, Brazil

1 memorial
Patricia Johnson

Patricia Johnson

Our colleague, Andrew Behan, has researched this young woman: Patricia Denise Johnson was born on 16 May 1965 and died, aged 15 years, on 18 January 1981 in a fire at party being held at 439 New Cr...

Person, Tragedy

2 memorials