A four-day church outing ended tragically when a teenager lost his life after he ventured into the murky Corentyne River for a swim.
Dead is 14-year-old Andrew Dyal Singh, of Number 71 Village, Upper Corentyne.On Monday the teen accompanied by other members of the Praise Tabernacle Fellowship Church of Bloomfield, left their homes for a four-day trip to Orella, an Amerindian reservation up the Corentyne River.
However, the following day while exploring the community the group ventured to an area commonly referred to as “Chalk Hill”, which has a creek in close proximity.
According to team leader Samuel Singh, they were heading down the creek, when Andrew ran ahead reaching the waterway.
“We were all going down the hill towards the creek and Andrew ran down starting to take off his clothes and I told him to be careful as he went into the water, he was the tallest so he went far out.”
He recalled that Andrew along with other boys were initially playing in the water, when he [Andrew] shouted that he was drowning, but those nearby thought it was a prank.
“After a while we saw him struggling, but by the time we realised that he needed help it was too late. We stood helplessly as we looked at the water as it pulled him. None of us knows how to swim.’
Samuel Singh recalled that a professional diver from the village was quickly summoned, and after the teen was retrieved from the waterway, he failed to respond to the Cardio-pulmonary Resuscitation[CPR]
Meanwhile, at the deceased home his mother was inconsolable and was unable to communicate with media personnel. However, his father, Basil Dayal Singh, reflecting on Andrew said his only son was a willing, peaceful and joyful individual, who loved serving God.

(By Jeune Bailey Van-Keric)