Man drowns while swimming in River Torrens
A 21-year-old man has died after trying to swim across Adelaide's River Torrens.
He was a former Adelaide University student who was participating in the uni’s O-week celebrations.
Witnesses say he got into the water at around 5:45pm yesterday afternoon on the west side of the university footbridge.
It’s believed the man was swimming backstroke and others nearby were filming him before he got into trouble.
7News reports the man had been planning the stunt for two months, to coincide with 'O-Week'.
He told friends earlier in the day that he was going to do it that day and invited them to come and watch.
He swam around 4 metres before he started to struggle.
According to police, a friend and a bystander tried to jump in to help, but they couldn’t find the man.
Witness have said the man seemed disoriented and pushed his friend underwater before swimming away and disappearing again.
One, Tim Horton, told 7News bystanders watched the man in despair.
"One more kick and he would have been there, so very close to the shore," he said.
"Friends were obviously reaching out to help him, one was in the water and I think we all just sort of held our breath at that moment when we lost sight of him."
The man reportedly was a strong swimmer however it’s believed he may have suffered from a medical condition such as epilepsy.
Police divers recovered his body at around 8pm.
On Wednesday, University spokesman Paul Duldig said staff and students that witnessed the drowning were being offered counselling.
"What we know, is that a former student of the University came into some difficulty in the River Torrens, and being a busy time of year a number of our students and staff were in the vicinity."
"The students were in deep shock, so what we focused on last night was really their health and safety," he said.
"We didn’t go through any process of investigation, we’re really leaving that up to the police."
Mr Duldig said the University was aware of the identity of the student, but declined to comment further.
