Shukri Abdi: Drowning of 12-year-old Somalian refugee in river was accidental, coroner rules

The drowning of a 12-year-old Somalian refugee in a Manchester river was accidental, a coroner has concluded.

The body of Shukri Abdi, who came to the UK with her family in 2017, was recovered by underwater search teams from the River Irwell in Bury, Greater Manchester, on 27 June last year.

She drowned in the company of school classmates, referred to during the inquest as Child One, Child Two, Child Three, Child Four, and Child Five.

Joanne Kearsley, senior coroner for Manchester North, said on Friday that Shukri had entered the water with a 13-year-old girl and did so “following some encouragement”.

But she rejected calls from the Abdi family for a conclusion of unlawful killing based on the actions of one of the children.

“There is absolutely no evidence before the court that Child One had any intention to kill Shukri,” the coroner said, though she added Child One had breached a duty of care and made a serious error of judgement.

Child One was aware Shukri could not swim and was reliant on her to stay afloat, she said.

Both went to an area of the water which was deeper and at some point the other child tried to swim underwater, the coroner continued.

Ms Kearsley said: “At this point, on the balance of probabilities, a combination of deep water, together with Shukri panicking and the other child struggling to swim, meant that she probably pushed Shukri off.”

Shukri struggled in the river and then “went under the water and drowned”, the coroner said.

Footage obtained as part of the inquest found Child One telling Shukri on the way to the river that if she didn’t get in the water “I would kill her”.

The coroner said this was not said with malice or intent and was a phrase Child One often used. She said there was no animosity between the child and Shukri.

The family have previously alleged that Shukri’s death was mishandled by the police, with their lawyer stating it was “the family’s firm position that they have been treated that way because of their race”.

In her ruling, the coroner acknowledged that Zamzam Ture, the mother of Shukri, was not provided with a satisfactory translator in the first instance.

Shukri was born in a Kenyan refugee camp in 2007. She was described by her family as a responsible child who aspired to be a doctor and helped her mother care for her younger siblings. Her mother has said Shukri suffered bullying at school.

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