This Monday, a nine-year-old boy drowned in the Santiago reservoir Chalons, the oldest dam in the country.
The minor has been identified as Danger Curo Padilla, he lived in Boniato and was studying at the Antonio Robert Ducás Primary School.
According to the family of young Danger as reported to journalist Yosmany Mayeta, the child's mother allowed him to go to the reservoir accompanied by his older brother.
"They went to the dam and were playing in the water. Suddenly, the boy felt unwell and told his older brother. The brother pulled him out and sat him on the wall and went back into the water to keep playing. At one moment, he looked and his little brother was no longer there," said a very close relative of the deceased boy to the mentioned communicator.
The older brother, not finding him, ran back home believing that his brother had returned on his own.
After a desperate and fruitless search in the homes of close relatives, they decided to return to the reservoir, where finally a cousin found the lifeless body of the boy near the shore where he had been swimming.
The minor lived with his mother, Katiuska Padilla; his stepfather, Leonel Aguilar; and his older brother in the José Martí Farm, in the town of Boniato.
The pain is immense among the child's relatives.
"This is very tough. That older brother is devastated, the mother and her stepfather are doing very poorly. Her stepfather Leonel raised him since he was very young," the source said.
Although they are low-income people, the neighbors claim that the child was well-mannered and obedient.
Danger was a very loved child in his community, known for his obedience and good manners. Despite his family's economic difficulties, the neighbors always described him as an educated and respectful boy.
The companions of the deceased child were called to the wake, which is taking place at the family's home. The burial is scheduled for 4:00 PM this Tuesday at the cemetery known as "El Deja'o" in the town of Boniato.
"I am calling on all families who frequently visit this area of the reservoir that is not designated for recreational bathing. Every year, children and adults die in this zone. It is sad to see how the light goes out for many of these innocent lives who were only seeking a moment of recreation," wrote Mayeta Labrada.
The journalist urged residents to take precautions when going to this place and to ensure that minors always attend accompanied by adults or their parents.
Unfortunately, several people have died from drowning in Santiago de Cuba in recent months.
Just a few days before that incident, two other young people drowned at Sardinero beach, also in the municipality of Santiago de Cuba, when a group of nine people - including three minors - were swimming in that dangerous stretch of coastline, where it is officially prohibited to do so.
In that case, the first deceased young woman was identified as Rachel Mora Torres, 20 years old and residing in Mangos de Baraguá, according to Aris Arias Batalla, provincial head of Aquatic Security and Operations and Rescue for the Red Cross.
The other deceased was Yasel Alberto Bicet, also 20 years old and a resident of the Abel Santamaría neighborhood, who had been missing for several hours before his body was found.
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