A 12-YEAR old student died after he drowned while on a school field trip.
Peni Dausiga was part of Suvavou Seventh-day Adventist School elementary science field trip to Colo-i-Suva Park when the incident happened on Thursday. Yesterday, his mother Latu Fakalawa said her baby left home and asked that she make roti and curry for dinner.
The youngest of five siblings, Peni and his elder sister Sofaia, 19, lived with their mum, while their father worked in Lautoka and the other siblings were married and lived on their own.
That week, his elder sister had gone to Lautoka so Peni and I spent the week together, she said.
On Thursday, I woke up and prepared his breakfast and lunch.
All he asked was that I make roti and curry when he returned.
I had made the roti but when I saw the teacher and the police come that evening, I knew something had happened to Peni.
Mrs Fakalawa said she was told that Peni was among some students who swam at the Colo-i-Suva pools.
On his first jump from the swing at the pool, he swam back safely, she said.
The teachers told them to stop swimming and head back to the bus.
Mrs Fakalawa said it was after a roll call the teachers realised Peni was missing but they thought he was lost in the park and went to see the caretaker.
They later found out that Peni and another boy went back for another swing, she said.
Some students saw him waving his hands in the air and they thought he was playing.
Peni's body was found by the caretaker and efforts to revive him proved futile. Police spokeswoman Ana Naisoro said a post mortem examination would be conducted soon. The drowning toll is now 37 compared to 19 for the same period last year.