OFFICIALS need to take action to prevent further tragedies in the River Wear, says Durham University student Charles Capel.

IN October 2013, Sope Peters, a second year undergraduate student at Durham University's Hatfield College went missing after a night out in Durham Town with his friends. He was found in mid-December in the River Wear, which runs through the historic city.

Seven months later, in May 2014, Luke Pearce, a first year undergraduate student at St Cuthbert’s College, Durham, went missing under similar circumstances, and was found a week later in the Wear.

On Friday morning, a body was recovered from the Wear, which is believed to be that of 19-year-old St Mary’s student Euan Coulthard, who, like Sope and Luke, went missing after a night out drinking in Durham City.

As a second year Durham student, at Hatfield College, I cannot help but feel what I can only imagine the rest of the student body is feeling: confusion, anger, melancholy, and a deep sense of loss.

Durham City, which was labelled the UK’s second safest university city in 2013, is home to a magnificent cathedral, picturesque cobbled streets, and an unmatched sense of student community. In a place such as Durham, this is not supposed to happen. When a member of our community is lost, the whole university feels it.

The potential discovery of Euan’s body may present a bitter sense of closure to close friends and family, and for close friends of Sope and Luke it may reignite a loss that will not have already passed. Yet for the rest of the student community, now living with an underlying sense of fear in a city surrounded by the river, two questions still remain.

Firstly, why are students falling into the river? Although there are some rumours of someone "pushing" students into the river, I feel this is wide of the mark.

In my opinion, most people agree that these are tragic accidents, but there appears to be some division between the students and the residents of Durham City about the cause of these accidents.

Many Durham locals I have spoken to blame the student excessive drinking culture, which is understandable. Durham has a vibrant nightlife in which alcohol plays a large part. A representative of Durham Constabulary told me this week that the way students are consuming alcohol has escalated in recent years, and that this is the key issue in all of these events. Further speculation leads some to conclude that the students took to the river to be sick after drinking excessively.

I tend to disagree with this viewpoint. The issue of students falling in the river is a new one, while Durham’s student drinking culture has been a constant for many years, a point that alumni often enjoy reminding us when they return.

My view is not unusual. Many students argue that Durham’s drinking culture is not as prominent as other university towns, and that actually it is poor maintenance of the surrounding areas of the river that is the issue. Three of Durham pubs and clubs, Klute, The Boatclub, and Whiskey River are opposite an unguarded section of river where drunk students could easily trip. Additionally, the towpath, which is often a student’s quickest route back to their accommodation, is poorly lit and disintegrated in places.

The second key question is what can be done? Once is a tragedy, twice is unnervingly familiar, but three times in 14 months is simply beyond coincidence. I, and a large proportion of the student community, say there must be action.

An online petition urging the council to improve river safety in Durham has amassed more than 13,500 signatures in the space of a week, and recently received the support of the Prime Minister David Cameron. The petition calls for improved lighting along the river, greater CCTV presence, and gates blocking the key access points to the river that can be locked in the evening.

Durham Police, however, appear to be tackling the situation from an opposite angle. They, quite naively, see education as a preventative to future incidents. An officer told me yesterday that they ran a campaign during the first week of the university year attempting to educate the students about river safety. This seems a half-hearted effort, which, given recent events, is ineffective.

Although I appreciate the effort , I believe that it simply does not go far enough. What is needed is concrete action in the form of structural changes to the areas surrounding the area, and an increased welfare presence outside clubs. Hopefully, this will ensure that three does not become four, and that students can feel secure in what was once described as one of the UK’s safest cities.

My heart – and those of all Durham's students – goes out to Euan's friends and family.