The school vacation turned tragic for two boys in Penal on Sunday afternoon, when one of them fell off an inflatable raft and drowned in a pond behind his home.
The body of Cruz Neeranjohn, a student of Penal Presbyterian School, was found stuck at the bottom of the murky pond, 45 minutes after he fell off the raft. The tragedy was witnessed by Cruz's 14-year-old brother Chris. Their father is fisherman Neil Neeranjohn. Chris said it was the first time they went so far out into the 30-foot-deep pond. They went to feed their ducks and both he and Cruz boarded the plastic inflatable raft.
His brother bent over the raft and toppled face-first into the water. "I tried to help him, but he went down. I run home and called everybody and they tried to help," Chris said. Cousin Anthony Dhunkarie said more than six people jumped into the pond in an effort to find the lad. With dusk approaching rapidly, a dozen more divers jumped in and Dhunkarie said they prayed for a miracle.
About 45 minutes later, they found Cruz's body at the bottom of the pond. "There was a lot of slush in the pond, and he was stuck there. He was already gone," Dhunkarie said. Police visited the scene yesterday and took statements. An autopsy was expected to be done yesterday. Cpl Mungroo of the Penal CID is continuing investigations.
