A mother has told how she tried in vain to find a missing 11-year-old girl who went paddling in the Thames River.
Emergency services scaled back their search for the girl on Monday night after a “large scale response” was launched to locate her.
Police had been called to Barge House Causeway, near London City Airport at 1.15pm on Monday.
Lifelong area resident Kerry Benadjaoud, 62, said: "My neighbour next door, she was outside doing her garden and there was two little kids running, and they said 'my friend's in the water'."
The neighbour called Ms Benadjaoud, who said she then went to pick up a nearby life ring.
The two women live on a residential street that leads onto Barge House Causeway - a concrete slope that goes directly into the River Thames and is used to transport boats.
A man told Ms Benadjaoud that he had called the police, she said, adding: "But he said at the time he could see her (the girl's) hands going down. So, by the time I got down there with the ring I couldn't find her."
Ms Benadjaoud said she found shoes, a sock, a coat and a phone near the river, and handed the items to the police.
A young boy who had been playing with the girl claimed he tried to hold her hand after she entered the water but it slipped, Ms Benadjoud said.
She went on: "The little boy turned around and said 'I tried to hold her hand but it slipped'.
"I said to the little boy's parents obviously he needs to see someone because it's going to affect him later".
The boy was about eight or nine years old, Ms Benadjaoud added.
"Apparently she was paddling, so her socks and shoes were off, her coat, then she must have slipped and gone down."
Barge House Causeway is a concrete slope that goes directly into the River Thames and is used to transport boats, and residents pointed out that it appeared to be covered in moss and is slippery.
A police spokesperson said the girl’s next of kin have been made aware and are being supported by officers.
London Ambulance Service was called at a similar time to police after receiving a report of a person in the water at Lowestoft Mews, close to the airport.
"We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an advanced paramedic, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team," a spokesperson said.
"Our crews assisted our emergency services partners at the scene but were later stood down."
London Fire Brigade deputy assistant commissioner Joseph Kenny said: "Firefighters responded to reports of a person in the River Thames near Lowestoft Mews, Newham.
"Crews from East Ham, Barking, Ilford and Bexley fire stations were sent to the scene alongside crews from the HM Coastguard, RNLI, London Ambulance Service and the Metropolitan Police Service.
"The brigade also deployed its drone team and fire boat as part of its response, with crews carrying out a systematic search of the area.
"The brigade was first called about the incident at 13:23. Search operations for firefighters were concluded at 15:49 when responsibility for the incident was left with the police."
A spokesperson for the RNLI said: "Tower RNLI was requested to launch this afternoon (March 31) to an incident near Woolwich.
"The lifeboat was later stood down."
