The body of a 16-year-old girl was yesterday fished out of the Demerara River, two days after a swimming trip turned tragic.
Dead is Chelsea Fernandes of Lot 851 Section C Block Y, Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara.
According to the teen’s aunt Sharon, Chelsea and her younger brother, Victor Henry, 9, were spending theweekend at her place in New Hope, East Bank Demerara, which is a norm when she returns from the interior.
She said that around 11 Saturday morning, she left Chelsea in charge of her younger cousins and travelled to Georgetown to conduct some business. Normally, she explained, when she did this the children would all stay indoors watching television, talking on the phone or conducting some indoor activity. “They don’t ever leave the house,” she stated. But on Saturday Chelsea decided she wanted to swim in the Demerara River, despite the fact that she was just learning to swim.
Sharon said a neighbour later related to her that her niece was seen walking at a swift pace “like if something de calling she and she had de lil ones running behind she, musse trying to stop she from going to de river.”
Chelsea’s cousin, Joseph Stanislaus, who at ten was the second youngest of the group, related to this newspaper that some time between twelve and one they had all just completed their midday meal and decided to take a walk to the back of their street to visit with some other cousins. The youngster explained that on their way back to the house, one of his male cousins raised the topic of swimming and at that point Chelsea voiced her desire to go swimming.
“So we carry she down so [at the back of the street] and she say da gutter too nasty and she want go at de river. We seh no and she start walking and all of we start follow she,” he said. When they got to the river, everyone entered, even the younger ones, who according to their mother and aunt Sharon, did not know how to swim. This newspaper understands that at that time the tide was low.
As time went by, the tide rose and Joseph and the other younger children decided to exit the water, while Chelsea reportedly stated that she wanted to take “one last plunge.” Joseph continued, “she jump over and she pull me down and I pull she down… and then she hold on pon me and I try fuh save she and she get blackout and I hold on pon she hand and then she hand slip out of me own and I hold on pon she chain.” Holding on to his cousin’s chain, Joseph said he managed to keep her afloat for some time, but as the tide rose higher and the water grew rougher, her chain broke and she drifted away and sank.
Apart from Chelsea, Joseph and Victor, four other youngsters were among the swimming group: Alicia Hernandez, 13; Elrico Hernandez; Stephon Scott, 12; and Shemar Skeete. They all related that after the girl went under, they ran back to the village and alerted neighbours who returned to the area and immediately began searching for her, but to no avail.
Yesterday, about an hour after the teen’s body was finally discovered, Stabroek News arrived at the riverside close to where the children had been swimming. Her bloated remains were seen tied to a part of what looked like a small landing, awaiting the arrival of more police to have pictures taken before its removal from the scene. Sharon, who was present related that “we was looking for her yesterday [Sunday] morning… almost whole day and then this morning [yesterday] we start looking for she around 8 and they… find her [around 2pm].
According to Tracey, one of the young girl’s friends, Chelsea, a Covent Garden Secondary School student, was a “good and brilliant girl” who always encouraged her and other schoolmates to do what was good. The Third Form Covent Garden Secondary School student said Chelsea was not the kind of person to “come out and go places like that. The farthest she would go is at the head of the street,” and so she along with the girl’s relatives were surprised that she ventured as far as the river.
Tracey added that the Fifth Form Business stream student was excited about sitting the CSEC examinations in 2012.
The girl’s mother, Camille Scott, was out of the country on vacation at the time of the incident and returned yesterday after hearing about her daughter’s demise. She told Stabroek News that she last spoke with Chelsea and her other siblings on Saturday.
This is the second occurrence of a youngster drowning in the East Bank Deme-rara River. Late last month, two boys, aged 12 and 13 went for a swim in the river with another boy and were pulled by the heavy tide. Their bodies were discovered in the following two days.
