A coroner has warned about the dangers of children playing near swollen rivers following the death of a schoolboy who slipped into fast-flowing water.
Cameron James Comey, 11, fell into the river Towy near his home in Carmarthen, west Wales, during half-term in February last year.
Pembrokeshire coroner’s court heard the boy had been out playing near the river with his younger brother when he fell in and despite a major search operation, his body was never found.
Coroner Gareth Lewis said: “This is a truly devastating case which highlights the dangers of playing near rivers when they are swollen after bad weather.”
The inquest heard that on 17 February Comey, a pupil at Queen Elizabeth high school, went out shopping to Carmarthen with his mother, Amanda, his brother and baby sister before returning home.
Coroner’s officer Malcolm Thompson said the youngster had asked his mum if he and younger sibling Anthony could go out and play. She agreed as long as he had his mobile phone with him.
The hearing was told that at about 2.45pm a businessman saw the two brothers playing near the riverbank.
Thompson added: “The brothers must have seen the man because he saw them trying to hide behind a pile of logs. He returned to the area [around 10 minutes later] but could not see the two brothers.”
At about 3.30pm, nine-year-old Anthony ran back home – arriving out of breath and covered in mud – saying that Cameron had fallen into the river.
A large-scale search and rescue mission was then scrambled and featured mountain rescue crews, police divers, a helicopter and scores of volunteers. Thompson added: “The search went on for months. Unfortunately, Cameron was never found.”
Neither Cameron’s mother nor his father, Damion, were at the short hearing into their son’s death on Thursday.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, Mr Comey told local newspaper the Carmarthen Journal his family had been left totally heartbroken.
He said: “When three months was up I had a terrible day, and that was the day it hit me. That was when I realised he was never coming home.”
The Comey family also said their pain had been made more bearable thanks to the “incredible support” still being shown by the community in Carmarthen.
A fund in memory of the youngster has also been set up – the Cameron Comey Memorial Trust – which aims to raise awareness about water safety and raise money for the rescue teams which helped in the rescue effort.
After concluding that Cameron Comey died as a result of an accident, the coroner added: “A loving family has been completely devastated by this incident. It is very sad.”
