Corentyne boy drowns trying to rescue friend

An eight-year-old boy on Tuesday morning drowned while trying to save a friend from the same fate in the Corentyne River at No.79 village.

The heroic lad has since been identified as Simson Esice McIntosh of 383, No. 77 village, Housing Scheme, Corentyne, Berbice.

Stabroek News understands that the boy was sitting near the village koker which is located a few feet away from the Skeldon Market when he saw one of his friends going down in the murky Corentyne River.  Without  a second thought he rushed to the rescue of his friend who was eventually able to make it to safety.

According to the deceased child’s, mother Bibi, a vendor of the Skeldon market,  she got the tragic message from a fellow vendor.

She said when she got there she saw a crowd flocking her son. Her son was lying on the ground after he was pulled from the river by a rural constable who saw him going under.

The mother stated that her son was found an hour after he went down in the river. She noted that after the boy was pulled out the constable did not allow anyone to perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation to try to save his life.  Instead, he waited on the police to transfer the boy to the Skeldon mortuary where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The mother also said that the doctor told relatives that the child died a few minutes before he arrived at the hospital.

She explained that she took McIntosh along with his brother to the market with her, since she does not like to leave them home alone.  She further added that whilst they were at the market he left her stall and went to a family friend whom he is very fond of.  The now dead boy spent some time at the stall and then left to play marbles with his friends. One of the said friends was the one he was attempting to rescue.

The boy will be laid to rest today at 3 pm.