Elm Park RAF cadet's fit 'did not seem urgent'

A man who planned an RAF cadet camp at which a teenager died after "having a fit" said he did not call an ambulance at first because "it didn't seem like an emergency", an inquest has heard.

David Efemena, 14, of Elm Park, London, died in March 2014 at the Bramley defence training estate in Hampshire.

Sqn Ldr Michael White told Walthamstow Coroners' Court the situation "didn't seem urgent".

It was later revealed David died from a congenital heart anomaly.

Mr White organised the event with his brother Christopher, also a squadron leader in the RAF.

He admitted the cadets were left unsupervised during the night and that staff-to-cadet ratios were not met.

He told assistant deputy coroner Nadia Persaud he was on his way to meet the cadets when he heard a crackling on the radio.

"As I was crossing the bridge I got a jumbled message, I couldn't make it out... but from what I could hear there didn't seem to be any urgency in the voice.

"When I got the full message I got there as quick as I could.

"The message I got was that David was shivering, but again it didn't seem urgent. I thought maybe hypothermia, worst case, so I ran up."

The inquest heard that Mr White arrived just after 07:00 GMT and an ambulance was eventually called at 07:11 GMT.

Mr White said he noticed a pool of vomit when he arrived at the scene and that David had urinated. He then administered CPR.

Mr White said "in hindsight" he wished he had gone straight to the scene, instead of turning around to meet his brother who was en route in a minibus.

"I keep wondering. If I had got there a couple of minutes sooner, would it have made a difference?" he said.

The inquest continues.