The heatwave in late May 2026 led to 17 water-related deaths across the UK. The ITV News article from June 1, 2026, lists all 17 victims by name or description. Here is the breakdown by age: **Young victims (children, teenagers, or very young adults):** - Junior Slater, 12 - Reco Puttock, 13 - An unnamed girl, 13 - Baltazar L'Qui, 14 - Chiedza Nyanjowa, 15 - Declan Sawyer, 15 - Lilliana Tomlinson, 16 - Charlie Noble, 16 - Muhammed Secka, 16–17 - David Tita Jr, 17 - An unnamed teenage boy (Hawley Lake, Hampshire) - An unnamed teenage boy (Swanscombe, Kent) - An unnamed man, 19 **Older adult victims:** - A man in his 40s - A man in his 60s - A woman in her 60s - A woman, 72 So approximately 13 of the 17 victims were young people (aged 19 or under, most being young teenagers or children). The BBC also noted that "At least seven young people died in the water" in an earlier report when the death toll was at 9, and the RLSS said most of the fatal incidents "involved children." The claim that "many of the people who died were young" is well supported. In fact, the majority of victims — roughly 13 out of 17 — were young people, predominantly teenagers and children. Sources: ITV News, "17 people have died after getting into trouble in open water during UK heatwave" (https://www.itv.com/news/2026-06-01/heatwave-open-water-river-sea-deaths-uk); BBC News, "Water safety warning after nine people die during heatwave" (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8plymvm47o); Mirror, "Heatwave drowning deaths reach 17 in UK after schoolgirl, 13, dies in river" (https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/uk-heatwave-deaths-drownings-water-37227775)