Dental technician drowns during outing with friends

A dental technician died after plunging into the Atlantic Ocean during an outing with friends at Alness Village, Corentyne, Berbice.
Dead is Gopaul Govindan, 19, also called “Raj”. His body was found along the Manchester Beach about 20:30h on Sunday.

Reports are the teenager and four friends left to go to the Alness Beach about 14:00h. His grieving father, Arjune Govindan, told this publication that none of the young men, including his son, were “capable” swimmers. The father, who is a taxi driver, explained that it was a weekly routine for his son and friends to go to the beach. “He can’t swim properly; in fact, none of them are good swimmers.”
According to Govindan, his son promised to be home by 16:30h, but about 16:00h a friend went to his home to inform him that the teen went into the water and they were trying to locate him.
The taxi driver said when he and his wife rushed to the beach, several persons had commenced a search for the teen. He explained, however, that the tide was high and as such, they had to wait it out before the search begun.
Villagers went into the water in search of the dental technician, who was attached to Cosdensply Dental Lab. However, they did not find him. As the water dropped even further and more of the beach became visible, the search was then turned to the beach and about one and a half miles away at Manchester the body was found.
Meanwhile, as Police launch an investigation, the four persons who were with Govindan at the time were detained pending the outcome of a post-mortem.
The four in custody are close friends of the dead teen who attended school with him and hailed from the same village. The dental technician, who took up the trade after he left the Bush Lot Secondary School, leaves to mourn his parents and three siblings. (Andrew Carmichael)