Men were last seen at a spot called Devil’s Water on Tyne on Sunday night
Darren’s son Anthony almost drowned in same river aged 12 in March 2012
The son of a kayaker who died alongside his brother and cousin almost drowned in the same river two years ago, it was revealed today.
ADVERTISEMENT
Anthony, the son of Darren Thorpe, had been climbing by the River Tyne with his friends aged 12 when he slipped and plunged 25ft into the water below, banging his head on his way down.
Knocked unconscious when he landed on a metal buoy in March 2012, Anthony was pulled to safety by his friends – but he was left with a fractured hip and pelvis and had six staples in his head.
Today, the three men from the same family found dead when their kayaking trip on the swollen Tyne went disastrously wrong were named.
Scroll down for video
Mark Thorpe, one of the canoeists whose body was pulled from the River Tyne
Darren Thorpe, who also died in the Tyne
Search effort: Darren Thorpe, 41, and Mark Thorpe, 39, both from South Shields, South Tyneside, and Gavin Bradley, 36, from Jarrow, South Tyneside, all died near Riding Mill in Northumberland
Emergency services were joined by the RAF and the Coastguard in the search. A rescue crew are pictured recovering the body of one of the kayakers
Taken away: Rescue service personnel retrieve a kayak the River Tyne following the incident on Sunday
Hunt: Northumbria Mountain Rescue Service searching the River Tyne at Hexham near the Tyne Bridge
Brothers Darren Thorpe, 41, and Mark Thorpe, 39, of South Shields, South Tyneside, and their cousin Gavin Bradley, 36, from Jarrow, South Tyneside, ended up in the river and drowned.
The men had last been seen at a spot called Devil’s Water on Sunday night and were using ‘sit on’ style kayaks, of a kind commonly used by leisure trippers rather than serious kayakers
They died in conditions dangerous enough for the local canoe club to cancel a planned excur
Newly discovered footage of The Hindendburg disaster provides new clues as to what caused the airship to explode moments from landing killing 36
‘What she did was amazing’: Family hails girl, 14, killed by hit-and-run driver after she pushed friend out of danger.
Amazing recovery of academic scarred for life after being gored in the THROAT by stag on walking trip
A neighbour of Darren Thorpe, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘It’s awful. His son Anthony nearly lost his life in the Tyne a couple of years ago and now his dad has lost his life in the Tyne.
‘When Anthony got stuck on the river his friends had to help him out. We were all worried. They have had no luck – his wife Louise has just lost her job as a teaching assistant too.
‘I think Darren thought about taking Anthony sometime with the kayak but I think Louise put her foot down. If Darren was still here he might have gone out with his dad and his brother
Leave a Reply