A body has been found in the hunt for a 13-year-old boy who fell in the River Thames last week, police have confirmed.
Zaheid Ali, a 13-year-old pupil at the Ark Globe Academy in Southwark, is believed to have fallen into the water at around 8am on Tuesday (April 20) shortly after getting off a bus at Tower Bridge.
A letter from school principal Matt Jones told parents that this was before his usual stop, reports London Live.
Today he told The Mirror: "We are very saddened to hear that a body has been found and that the police believe it is the missing student of ours.
"Our hearts go out to his family and friends.
"As a school community, we are pulling together ensuring all our students are supported at this difficult time."
Marine police, firefighters and crews from the RNLI have been scouring the area as part of "an intensive search" with the assistance of a police helicopter.
However, a spokesperson for City of London Police, leading the investigation into the disappearance, has today (Thursday, April 29) confirmed a body has been found in the search.
A police spokesperson said: “At around midday on Wednesday, April 28, a body was recovered from the River Thames by marine units which we believe to be that of a 13-year-old who has been missing since Tuesday April, 20.
"His family have been informed but at this time formal identification has not yet taken place.”
City of London police said that his body was found close to Rotherhithe tunnel after being spotted in the water by a member of the public.
