The death yesterday of 15-year-old Dexter Bowman brought a sudden end to an afternoon of swimming fun for him and his friends.
The teen was said to have been swimming at the “Blue Lake” aback Wisroc late yesterday afternoon. According to residents of the neighbouring Block 22 some of the boys ran screaming for help saying that Bowman had gone under the water and was not surfacing.
Stabroek News was told that the boys were racing from one end of the lake to another when Bowman met his demise.
He was living at the time with his grandmother Emelda Bowman. She was screaming uncontrollably as other relatives and friends tried to calm her. The boy’s mother who lives in Kwakwani was notified of her son’s demise.
One of the boys who were swimming with Bowman said that they were able to retrieve his body following a desperate search by several persons.
He was found dead less than half hour after he went down.
The boy was a 2nd week student of the Wismar Christianburg Secondary School having been transferred from the Linden Foundation Secondary.
Blue Lake is a mined out pond on land belonging to Linmine. On numerous occasions the management has warned persons not to swim or use the area for picnicking. A no-swimming sign has also been mounted in the area but persons keep ignoring it and find themselves attracted to the sky blue waters. The lake has claimed the lives of several persons in the past, mainly youths. (Cathy Wilson)
