Yaounde: Body of 13-yr-old swept away by runoff found.

The body of the young boy was found around a small river at the Damas neaighbourhood in Yaounde III Subdivision, during the morning hours of yesterday. 

The remains of little Henri are said to have been discovered by an inhabitant of the neighbourhood who was on his way to his jobsite.

He is said to have immediately informed authorities who in turn reached out to the family of the kid.

The parents of the late Henri Nkokono, who rushed to the scene, were able to identify the body of their son.

The remains of Henri were retrieved from the water by family members with the help of workers of the Yaounde VI Council and brought to the scene where the water swept him away. 

The corpse of Henri was later ferried to the Biyem-Assi District Hospital Mortuary pending burial arrangements by family.

The mayor of Yaounde VI Council, Yoki Onana, who was at the scene consoled and comforted the parents and family members of the pupil who lost his life in such a tragic manner.

Recall that the pupil was swept away by water, following heavy downpour in the nation’s political capital, while he was heading to school.

The Class Six pupil of Government Bilingual Primary School Biyem-Assi, is said to have spotted a ball in the runoff and in an attempt to pick it up, was unfortunately swept away by the water.

A source at the scene noted that he stepped on some plastic bottles thinking it was solid enough but before he could stretch his hand to grab the ball he had spotted, he was carried away by the water.

A search operation that was launched immediately after the young boy was swept away, failed to yield fruit throughout Monday. 

Persons of goodwill had continued the search yesterday morning before it was announced that his body had been found. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3254 of Wednesday October 09, 2024