Locals near the scene said the 11-year-old girl, who went missing after she entered the River Thames, was rowing on a day off.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were alerted to reports of the girl entering the river near Barge House Causeway, close to London City Airport, at about 1.15pm on Monday.
Emergency services launched a “massive response” to the incident, police said, but the search was later scaled back, with the London Ambulance Service (LAS), London Fire Brigade (LFB) and RNLI saying crews had been withdrawn.
According to local residents, the child was playing near the water with a small boy and a girl.
Shaleen Rajayendram, 59, who lives on Barge House Road, which leads to the causeway, told the PA news agency: “I heard a guy up there shouting: 'Wait there, wait, the police are coming'.”
The man was standing on the balcony of an apartment building overlooking the river and later told Ms Rajayendram that he was alerted by the “screaming and yelling” of children, she said.
Ms Rajayendram continued: 'Then I suddenly saw two children coming out on top of the bridge and I asked, 'What happened?'
“Then they said, 'One of my friends was playing in the water, one of my friends went into the water and went under the water, and we can't find him.'”
The girl returned home and the boy told Mrs. Rajayendram where the incident took place.
Ms Rajayendram then called her neighbour, 62-year-old Kerry Benajaud, who went down to the water with a life preserver but did not see the girl.
The man said he had called the police, Ms Benajaoud told the PA news agency, adding: “But he said at that moment he saw her (the girl's) hands going down. So by the time I got down there with the ring I couldn't find her.”
A resident of the area said that she found shoes, a sock, a coat and a phone near the river and handed them all over to the police.
“She must have been rowing so she had no socks, shoes or coat on and then she must have slipped and drowned,” she added.
Ms Benajaud said the boy who was with the girl was about eight or nine years old.
She told PA: 'The little boy turned around and said: 'I tried to hold her hand but she slipped away.'
“I told the boy's parents that he obviously needed to meet someone because this would affect him later.”
The Barge House Causeway is a concrete ramp that runs right down to the River Thames and is used to transport boats. Locals have noted that it is covered in moss and slippery.
The girl's next of kin have been notified and are receiving support from officers.
At the same time, police were called to LAS after receiving reports of a man in the water in the Lowestoft Mews area, close to the airport.
“We have deployed resources to the scene including an ambulance crew, a frontline paramedic, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team,” a spokesman said.
“Our crews assisted our emergency services partners at the scene but were later withdrawn.”
LFB Deputy Assistant Commissioner Joseph Kenny said: “Firefighters responded to reports of a man in the River Thames near Lowestoft Mews, Newham.
“Crews from East Ham, Barking, Ilford and Bexley fire stations, as well as crews from Her Majesty's Coastguard, RNLI, London Ambulance Service and the Metropolitan Police were sent to the scene.
“As part of the response, the team also deployed a group of drones and a fire boat, and crews conducted a systematic inspection of the area.
“The first call to the scene was received by the brigade at 13:23. The search for firefighters was completed at 15:49, after which responsibility for the incident was transferred to the police.”
An RNLI spokesman said: “An RNLI tower was called to the scene of an incident near Woolwich this afternoon (31 March).
“The lifeboat was later launched.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
