What was supposed to be a fun August vacation with her mother turned tragic when 5-year-old Juliana Gounga last Wednesday drowned in a pool of water in an old gold mining pit at Jawbone backdam, Region One.
Gounga of Orange Walk, Matthews Ridge, North West District, was a pupil of Pakera, Matthews Ridge. Investigations revealed that the child’s mother who was employed as a cook at Jawbone backdam, Baramita, North West District, took the child to spend the August holiday with her.
Last Wednesday at about 16.30 hours, the mother alleged that she left her daughter at the shop where she works for about 10 minutes. Upon her return, she noticed the child was not where she left her, and began making checks around the premises. She then observed her daughter in a pool of water in the old gold mining pit face down and motionless, and rushed into the pit and pulled her out.
She rushed her to the Baramita Cottage Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. A subsequent post-mortem examination revealed that the child died by drowning.
