A six-year-old boy from Moco Moco Village in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) lost his life Thursday, in an alleged drowning incident at a local creek.
While details on the incident remain sketchy, reports indicate that the child, Dalon Edwards, had been playing near the popular creek in the afternoon, when he playfully jumped off a bridge into the water but failed to resurface.
Community members rushed to his aid and pulled him from the water, but their efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. Dalon was pronounced dead shortly after the incident.
Following the incident, several persons took to social media to express their sadness at the child’s death.
Dead: Dalon Edwards
The child’s school teacher whose Facebook name is Petal Jonas, in a Facebook post on Saturday said: “It saddens my heart to lose someone so precious. Though I don’t have any children of my own, this little one (Dalon) was entrusted to my care at the school and has become like my child…. Who knows me and the kids know we like hugs and the kids would make a line to hug me every day. God knows how I’d feel when he’s not gonna be in line with the others. I do appreciate every little time I spent with them and appreciate all their little gifts -the card they gave to me with all their names-. And he may not be there in my class anymore but he will live on in my memory every day”.
This is the second case of alleged drowning that would have been reported for this year.
Demarius Wilabus Payne, an 18-year-old college student from Atlanta, Georgia, and Wismar, Linden, tragically drowned on Boxing Day while visiting Guyana to celebrate his birthday. The incident occurred while Payne was spending time with relatives.
Police initially reported that Payne drowned at the Coomacka Mines creek in Linden after venturing into deeper waters while swimming. He was later pulled from the creek unconscious and pronounced dead at the Linden Hospital Complex.
However, Payne’s family provided a different account, stating the incident occurred in the Demerara River, where a boat carrying Payne and relatives sank. Payne reportedly suffered a cramp while swimming to safety, panicked, and drowned after water entered his lungs.
A post-mortem examination confirmed drowning as the cause of his death.
