A nine-year-old boy has tragically drowned after playing “who can stay underwater the longest” game with his brother while playing at the beach.
The body of Kayk Manasses Teixeira Coutinho was discovered in Lagoa do Boqueirao, a lagoon in Marica, in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, on the evening of February 3. The victim’s mum, Kissila Balzac, 26, said that her son was playing with his brother and a cousin near the shore when he drowned. They were reportedly playing “who can stay underwater the longest.”
The family lives in Itaborai and had been in Marica since January 31, visiting an aunt who lives in the city. Kissila and some family members decided to visit the lagoon with the children in the afternoon on Monday. The heartbroken mum said: “It happened very quickly. They were playing on the shore, but we were watching very closely the whole time. It was a metre from where we were to the edge of the lake.
“Kayk was playing with his cousin and his six-year-old brother. Suddenly, we couldn’t see him anymore. The cousin said he had dived in, that they were playing to see who could stay underwater the longest.”
The fire department was called at 6.45 pm, with diving teams then searching the area before finding the young boy’s body at around 11.45 pm after being assisted by other swimmers and fishermen. The family said that there were flags up to indicate a risk of drowning in other parts of the lake but there were no flags where they were swimming.
Diego Moreira, 30, a cousin of the victim, said: “He was found very close by. No one imagined that such a tragedy could happen there. There were other people and fishing boats.” Kissila said: “We tried to look for him and sank into a hole. We managed to get back out, but a nine-year-old child wouldn’t have the strength to get out.”
It is unclear if Kayk became trapped in this hole. His family went to the local morgue the following day, on Tuesday, to formally identify his body. Grief-stricken Kissila said that the hardest thing is to explain to Kayk’s six-year-old brother, who was with him at the time, what happened.
She said: “My son keeps asking if we’re going to see Kayk.” She added: “He was a very dear child. He had a lot of friends where we live; he liked going to church with his brother and his friends. Before we got to the lake, he was talking to my aunt and said that when he grew up, he wanted to be a sailor.”
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