Two youths drown in separate incidents Hot

Two youths drowned in separate incidents yesterday as the post-Easter period took a decidedly unhappy

turn from the happy weekend festivities.
Stephon  Brusche, 14, of Sparendaam New Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara (ECD) drowned yesterday afternoon while reportedly playing in the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) drainage canal.
This canal is located aback of Plaisance, ECD.
Sources told this newspaper that the incident took place around 15:00 hrs when Brusche and several friends were swimming in the canal.
“He plunging in and out, in and out. You know how lil boy story does go. The last time he plunge in we didn’t see him raise up back,” said one individual.
Kaieteur News was told that an alarm was raised by Brusche’s friends and a search began.
A little less than 15 minutes later, the friends found his body near the spot where he was last seen plunging.
They desperately tried to get to Brusche’s body hoping that he was still alive. However, by the time they pulled him out of the canal he appeared to have already perished. This was later confirmed by medical personnel.
Meanwhile, a hangout at the seawall yesterday turned out to be the last for 11-year-old Shemar Success of West Ruimveldt who dived into the water for a swim and was not seen again by his companions.
Reports are that the youth went to the seawall sometime yesterday afternoon with friends who lived in his village. They were said to have been accompanied by the father of one of the children.
According to one girl, the group of neighbours was hanging out on the seawall and some decided to go near the water to play. They eventually got into the water and began to “splash about.”
Shortly afterwards, Success continued to venture out further in the water and decided to take a swim. He never surfaced after diving in.
Roy Success, the boy’s father, visited this newspaper at 17:25hrs yesterday to notify this publication of his son being missing.
The man broke down in tears while explaining that his son, who attended Success Elementary School, recently wrote the National Grade Six Assessment.
“He went to the seawall and now they can’t find his body. I am going to go look for my son. Shemar is 11 years old and he only wrote the common entrance exams the other day,” was all the distraught father could utter before rushing out to search for his child.
Kaieteur News understands that Shemar’s parents are separated and he used to live with his maternal grandparents.
However, his father lived several houses away and maintained a close relationship with his only child.
At the grandparents’ home, Shemar’s relatives were at a loss for words.
The grief was too much for one female who burst into screams and tears. She subsequently began stomping and rolling on the floor.
Neighbours and friends gathered around the house waiting for word of the search at the seawalls.
Meanwhile, Roy Success’ sister and aunt were comforting each other at their home. They told Kaieteur News that the situation was one which words could not offer any comfort.
“Roy didn’t even know that Shemar had gone to the seawall. He was on the phone listening to the news on the radio and riding his bicycle coming home when he was told that his son drowned. He became so frantic and dropped everything and went looking for Shemar,” one relative told this publication.
Up to press time, relatives and friends of the Success family were still at the seawall scouring the area to locate the body of young Shemar. (Kristen Macklingam)