A schoolgirl who drowned was 'pushed around' by two children in a 'nasty' incident five hours before she died while swimming with them in a river.
Shukri Yahye Abdi, 12, was with other children when she drowned in the River Irwell in Bury during the June 2019 heatwave.
Today, an inquest into her death heard Shukri, a Kenyan-born Somalian refugee, was getting ready to compete in a 200m athletics race when two girls, who for legal reasons were referred to in court as Child One and Child Two, came into the changing rooms and started ‘pushing her around’.
Footage of a police interview with another girl, referred to as Child 5, who witnessed the incident, was played in court, the Manchester Evening News reports.
During the interview Child Five said: “They (Child One and Child Two) came in and said ‘We’ve been looking for you everywhere’.
“Then (Child Two) was like ‘We were going to go to your house’."
Shukri didn’t respond.
“(Child One) said ‘You knew we were going out’ and she was pushing her around everywhere. They were telling her to get changed. Shukri got changed and they just went.
“Before they came in we were all laughing and joking then they came in and it was silent. It was a bit nasty.”
Later that evening Shukri, who couldn't swim, went to the river near Bury town centre with Child One and Child Two and two boys, referred to as Child Three and Child Four.
The inquest, in Heywood, was shown footage of the initial police interviews with Child One and Child Two.
Child Two, who was interviewed in Bury police station on the night of Shukri's death, said: "At first (Child One) went in the water then Shukri, then me.
"They were like up to their knees, but I didn't [go in]. I just went and sat on a big rock.
"They kept on playing then Shukri let go of (Child One's) hand because the water was too deep.
"She went down and came back up. She shouted help. She was flapping her arms to get up.
"She went down and that's the last I saw her.
"We kept on calling her name, but she gave no answer.
"One of the boys went in to try to help but it was too deep."
Child 1 told police: "She had hold of my hand then she let go of my hand.
"She slipped out of my hand. I swam back. I knew it was going to happen.
"I didn't actually know she was going to go down, like into the deep part.
"I was telling the boys to jump in. I tried to jump in to save her but it was too deep."
Home Office pathologist Prof Philip Lumb said minor bruising and grazing was found on Shukri’s head, face and limbs, which could have been caused by her body hitting objects under the water.
Prof Lumb gave the cause of death as drowning.
Sgt Anthony Darbyshire, from the North West Underwater Search Unit, said Shukri’s body was discovered on the riverbed at a depth of 4.4m in a patch of calm water close to the weir at 11.37pm.
Shukri, a pupil at Broad Oak Sports College, was wearing leggings and a tee shirt and no shoes.
Giving evidence on Monday Child 1's guardian said that around three or four days after Shukri's death, Child 1 asked to speak to her, saying: 'There is something I need to tell you'.
The guardian said: "She said when they were walking towards the river she said to Shukri ‘If you don’t get in the water I’m going to kill you’ in a laughing and joking manner'.
“She said she wasn’t sure Shukri was going to get in the water. She wanted someone else to come in the water with her.”
The inquest is expected to last five days.
