SA man drowns retrieving toy boat

A man has drowned in Adelaide's River Torrens after trying to retrieve his remote-controlled speedboat.

Bystanders yelled as the 51-year-old man from Netley, who was barely able to swim, took off his jeans and got into the river where they watched in horror as he disappeared into the water,.

Police say witness accounts differ, but it is understood the man was anywhere between 10m and 25m from the shore when he drowned.

"He got in and he couldn't swim," one witness who was fishing nearby told the Adelaide Advertiser.

"He was doing doggy paddle."

Another witness said the man "bobbed up and down" before he "just disappeared" into the South Australian river.

"We were saying 'don't go in. Don't go in'," the witness said.

Police were called to the scene around 2.20pm and divers found the man's body about 4.30pm in the water described as deep with poor visibility.

Inspector Seamus McDaid said the victim began to swim back toward shore after retrieving the toy boat before he "disappeared… under the water".

"It's a tragedy, very unfortunate. Any stretch of water is dangerous and you have to treat it with respect," Insp McDaid said.

"At the end of the day, it was only a remote-controlled boat."

A report of the incident will be prepared for the state coroner.

Source: Adelaide Advertiser
Author: Nicholas McCallum, Approving editor: Jack Hawke