Police suspect teen drowned

A 16-YEAR-OLD grade nine schoolboy is believed to have drowned after going swimming on his first day of school in East New Britain (ENB) on Feb 15.
ENB police commander Chief Insp Joseph Tabali said police were waiting for a post-mortem to be conducted to determine the Utmei Secondary boy’s cause of death.
He said the boy and three classmates went to the river banks after school in Gazelle, about 1.5km away, to do their laundry.
“His friends decided to take a stroll along the banks but the boy opted to remain to possibly take a swim,” he said.
“The friends returned to the school and went to their dormitory.
“The boy’s cousin, also a student in the school, could not find the boy the whole evening and raised an alarm.
“The following day, at about 5pm, several students found the boy’s clothes by the river bank and ran back to school to alert teachers and the principal.
“They then conducted a search on the river banks but found nothing.
“Several students decided to dive into the river and found the boy.”
The body was then sent to the Nonga Base Hospital mortuary,” he added.