Teens drown in separate incidents in Guyana

Loop News- A day of fun turned out to be one of tragedy for two families in Guyana when their teenage sons drowned in separate incidents.

Nathaniel Nelson, a 14-year-old Line Path Secondary School student, allegedly drowned at about 07:30 am on Sunday at Orealla Village on the Corentyne River.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) said their initial investigation revealed that Nelson, who is from Crabwood Creek in Corentyne, was with a group visiting Orealla when he, along with others, handed over their cellular phones to a relative and left in an unknown direction.

“They went swimming and played (Ready - Ketcha) in the Creek when Nathaniel went into the water, began struggling, and disappeared. As a result, a search party was formed, and subsequently, the body was retrieved at about 10:15 am,” police said.

Nelson was taken to the Orealla Health Centre, where he was pronounced dead on arrival by a doctor on duty.

In the second incident, Anthony Gordon, a 13-year-old student of Wismar/Christianburg Secondary School, allegedly drowned at around 1 pm at 'Buck Town' Creek in Wismar, Linden.

Police said Gordon, who resided at Lot 281 One Mile Wismar in Linden, was in the company of two friends, ages 10 and 14 years, and they were all swimming together when tragedy struck.

“Gordon reportedly ran into the water and subsequently submerged underwater for some time. At this point, his two friends noticed Gordon was missing and immediately raised an alarm. Some residents came out and searched the entire area. Gordon's body was later discovered at the bottom of the Creek in a motionless state,” police said.

The teen was taken to the Linden Hospital Complex, where he was pronounced dead.