Teenage boy drowns in South Sound
Cayman Islands Hospital, George Town
(CNS): A 14-year-old boy drowned Sunday, police said, after the youngster reportedly got into difficulty in the ocean off the coast of the South Sound cemetery. Police have not identified the boy or said whether he is a resident of or visitor to the islands. According to a short release from the RCIPS, the emergency services were called to the scene at around noon yesterday, when he was pulled from the water. CPR efforts proved unsuccessful and he was taken to the George Town hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Police are expected to release more information today.
The tragedy comes at the end of a year in which the ocean has claimed more than a dozen lives and ahead of a planned seasonal campaign about safety on the water by the RCIPS.
Category: Local News
I’m very sad to hear of the youngster’s death. With the strong currents in that area, maybe it’s time to put up a warning sign.
Although I do not know the circumstances surrounding the tragic loss of this young man’s life, and with condolences to his family for their loss to be said before anything else, this part of South Sound is called “pull and be damned” for a reason. It should be made public knowledge that when the tide is falling and/or when a strong wind is pushing laterally on the sound this area flows like a river. This area is where the whole sound empties out back into the open sea and often makes it futile to try to swim into the current into such conditions. In order to get back to shore one has to take an approach diagonal to the shoreline as opposed to head on because the current can run faster than the best of swimmers. As is the case at Spotts dock also the rip current has taken more than one life because when panic sets in and one tries to beat the flow of water it is a recipe for tragedy when lack of experience comes into play. In the case of Spotts dock all one has to do is let the current take one out and then come to shore further down the coast after out of the rip current. In the case of South Sound one should swim diagonal to the current towards shore, as the current can and will overpower the best of swimmers. Condolences to the family of the young man who lost his life and I hope that in the future the public will take the time to become better acquainted with the forces at work on our coast.