A Barama Company Limited employee drowned during a company fun day yesterday after he chased a cricket ball that went into a nearby canal.
Dead is 18-year-old Shawn Atkinson, of Timehri.
According to persons present at the scene, Atkinson disappeared when he jumped into the canal chasing after a cricket ball that had been displaced during a game. He tried to swim despite lacking the ability to do so.
They related that someone had jumped in after Atkinson but failed to save him because he was struggling too much. The group added that the teen’s body subsequently disappeared in the water and the coast guard had to be called in to assist with finding the body. An excavator was on the bank of the canal when Stabroek News arrived and it was learned that it was to have been used in the search attempt.
The family of the deceased was too distraught to give any definitive comments to this publication but did say that Shawn was the second born of seven children in his family. The also related that he had worked at Barama Company Limited for the past three months.
