Mark Anthony Burnette, the teen who took a fatal dive into a trench through a tyre on Tuesday, died by asphyxiation, a post-mortem examination has confirmed.
Burnette, 13, of Lot 60 Church Street, Stanley-town, was pronounced dead after he was fished out of a trench 60 meters away from his home at 12noon.
The autopsy, which was conducted yesterday, confirmed that the boy asphyxiated, a senior police officer confirmed to this newspaper.
Burnette and a friend had gone swimming sometime after 11:45am on Tuesday. However, their activity came to a tragic end after the teenager decided to dove into water for a second time and did not resurface. His friend then ran home and informed his mother of what transpired. The lifeless body of Burnette was eventually fished out of the trench by his older brother.
Burnette is survived by his mother and nine siblings.
