A BRAVE man who could not swim drowned after he jumped into a river to rescue his stepdaughter, an inquest heard.
Reza Zolali, 30, was underwater for 20 minutes in a 6ft deep pool before members of the public jumped in to drag him out.
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His stepdaughter, thought to be eight, managed to scramble to safety on her own after getting into difficulty and raised the alarm with her younger brother.
Passersby began giving CPR before the emergency services arrived.
They had been walking in Long timber Woods, which runs alongside the River Erme in Ivybridge, Devon, last June.
One rescuer Jackie Winterburn said the girl asked for help for their stepdad and showed where he as down a steep rocky slope, when she saw Reza underwater.
She said: “What happened was tragic. Everyone who helped was brilliant. The little boy and girl deserve some praise for being so calm too.”
Det Con Rachel Walke said the pool was deceptively deep and there were no obvious grabbing points if people try to get out of the river, and there are no life belts at the location.
Senior coroner Ian Arrow said Iranian-born Reza recorded a conclusion of accidental death at Plymouth coroners’ court.
Partner and mum-of-three Kaylie McGrath called him a hero at the time.
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She told ITV: “I think his mum and dad need to be proud because they raised such an amazing man. So selfless.
“It just shows in the way that he passed, he was a hero from the day I met him, he was a hero raising my girls, he was a hero the way he went and he will remain a hero forever.”
Raza was days away from receiving British citizenship after fleeing persecution in Iran when he died.
