Body found in River Ouse search after York man jumps in

Updated: A young man from York jumped into the River Ouse from a waterfront balcony and drowned.
Police say “a moment of misplaced exuberance” cost the 21-year-old his life yesterday morning.
Witnesses said they saw the man struggle in the water briefly before disappearing from view at about 6.35am.
Underwater search teams from West Yorkshire Police were at the scene for most of the day. A police spokesman confirmed that a body was recovered from the river in the afternoon, but said it was too early to formally identify the person.
It is understood the man had just finished work at a nearby bar and had jumped into the water from a walkway near the City Screen cinema and Revolution Vodka Bar, off Coney Street. Revolution remained closed throughout the day on Sunday.
Police said a man, who was part of a group of friends with the jumper, dived in in a desperate rescue attempt.
However, after getting into difficulties himself, he managed to pull himself out to safety.
Police confirmed the man’s death was not being treated as suspicious.
His family has been informed, but are understood to be out of the country at the moment.
The tragedy comes after three men were arrested after jumping into the river in the centre of York a week earlier.
Police and fire crews, including York’s rescue boat, were called to the same stretch of river by the Pitcher & Piano bar, off Coney Street early last Saturday evening. All three men, who are in their 20s, had got out of the river by the time emergency services arrived.
Inspector Mark Henderson, of the York City Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: “York has been a very sombre place today knowing that a young man with everything to live for has paid the ultimate price for a moment of misplaced exuberance.
“It is a tragedy that his parents, family and friends will struggle to come to terms with. I personally do not wish to take away from their heartbreak and grief at this terrible time, however people need to wake up to the fact that rivers in general are extremely dangerous, and the Ouse itself is a particularly treacherous stretch of water.”
He said: “To avoid further tragic outcomes like this one, I urge people to take much greater care and respect the very real dangers that rivers pose.”
David Wade, 29, a freelance photographer from York, said he was close to the Park Inn Hotel when he saw the police diver in the water signal to colleagues at about 5pm yesterday before police officers moved people away from the area.
“I saw the divers and saw the police had cordoned off the area,” he said. He believed they had just found the body.