Airy Hall teen drowns at Aurora beach

An Essequibo Coast teen drowned on Saturday afternoon during an outing with his friends at the Aurora seawall.

Dead is Koushal Persaud, 19, of Airy Hall Sands, Essequibo Coast. He was a first year student of the Cyril Potter College of Education.

Stabroek News learnt that the teen and five other friends went to the beach where they were celebrating a friend’s birthday. While at the beach, the group went for a swim and moments later, Persaud went missing. He was later pulled out by rescuers who responded to the alert raised by the friends.

Koushal Persaud
Koushal Persaud

Speaking to Stabroek News, his brother Anand Persaud said the details surrounding his brother’s death is still a mystery to his family. He explained that at around 4pm on Saturday, he received a call and was told that his brother was involved in a mishap. Anand related that when he arrived at the scene, he saw his brother’s lifeless body. He revealed that two friends were also found unconscious and they were rushed to the Suddie Hospital where they were admitted.

Koushal does not know how to swim, Anand said. He said his brother was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

According to Anand, they revisited the area where his brother and friends were swimming but could not discover any object that may have contributed to his brother’s death. “We went and check the area and it’s smooth. There is no big brick or stumps and wood that we would say he hit his head on,” Anand said.

The family is depending on the result of the post-mortem examination for closure as they suspect there might be more to his death. Koushal is survived by his parents and two brothers.