The best friend of hero Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole had to be convinced not to jump in after his drowning friend despite not being able to swim.
Bernard Kosia and Folajimi, who was known as Jimi, sprang into action mode when they realised a woman was in the swirling waters of the River Thames close to midnight on Friday.
After racing along London Bridge trying to spot her, Jimi, 20, took his clothes off and leapt into the water just as another member of the public also threw themselves in.
Bernard, also 20, was left by himself on the city beach in the dark, trying to keep track of his best friend and the shouting woman.
"Jimi stopped half way to the woman," the devastated pal told the Mirror.
"I hear him shouting my name. It was paining me. I heard his voice fading into thin air."
"The police arrived and Bernard tried to point Jimi out to them, but he couldn't be reached.
"They pulled me over and sat me down," he continued.
"They were stopping me from trying to show where Jimi was. They were trying to stop me pointing to him.
"I was aiming to (go in after Jimi), but the police were trying to convince me not to do it.
"Jimi had told me not to go in. He knew I couldn't swim."
The next morning police found Jimi's body washed up on the side of the Thames.
The other man who jumped in and the woman are said to both be safe.
Before the traumatic incident unfolded Jimi and Bernard had been walking home from the restaurant where they worked.
As they did they had discussed their families and told each other they loved one another.
Bernard told Good Morning Britain: "Jimi means a lot to everyone. Especially around South London now, everyone knows him as a neighbourhood hero.
"To risk your life in such a way, you don't see that every day.
"And the fact that he was adamant to save that woman, it just shows his nature and his mindset."
Bernard said he wanted to thank the other man who had jumped in, who he said was a "hero".
Tributes have flooded in for Jimi following his death.
Marvellous Afamefune, who was at school with him, told the Mirror: "He was the most selfless person you could ever meet.
"Always thinking of everyone else before himself. His energy was irreplaceable and he never seized to put a smile on your face.
"He had the purest heart. He will be missed deeply until we meet again."
Jimi's father, Michael Adewola, and mother, Olasunkanmi Adewole, wept as they paid tribute to their son.
The distraught dad said: "I want the Government to honour him. Jimi was a good soul to me."
Describing him as "the breadwinner of the house", he said he was "always taking care of me and my wife and his friends".
He thanked all those who have supported a GoFundMe page set up to help the family - which has so far raised more than £88,000.
Mrs Adewole said her son "had a good heart".
The couple have previously been reported as saying they believe the length of the search for their son in the water was "not enough", adding that they "want justice" for him.
The Coastguard and the Metropolitan Police's marine unit rescued the man and woman, but could not find Jimi that night.
Detective Chief Superintendent Oliver Shaw, from City of London Police, described him as a "brave, kind and selfless young man".
He said: "Our officers arrived extremely quickly to the scene but two members of the public had already entered the water.
"One man had managed to swim to the woman and they were both seen above water by the Coastguard. Sadly, there was no sign of the other rescuer.
"We remained on scene to assist the marine units and police helicopter with the search in the water. This was stood down by the Coastguard over an hour later.
"We continued to search the shore of the river, in person and using our network of CCTV cameras, and, unfortunately, at 05.46 a body was discovered.
"The circumstances of this incident are extremely tragic. We continue to support the family of this heroic young man who heartbreakingly lost his own life trying to save that of another."
A spokesperson for the coastguard said: "HM Coastguard's first priority is always to save lives and we will continue to search the surface of the water within a search area until either the missing person has been found or a decision is taken to stand down the search.
"These decisions are taken after serious consideration of all the facts and take into consideration the feelings of the family and friends of those who are missing.
"The search involved five search-and-rescue boats, visual searches from bridges and the police helicopter searching overhead. Despite initial conflicting reports about how many people had gone into the water, we based our search on the fact there could be three.
"It was determined where in the water the person could be based on tidal conditions and that area was thoroughly searched many times before the decision was taken to suspend the search at 1.20am."
