BIRTHDAY BOY DROWNS

DESPERATE to find the body of her eldest child yesterday, Mindy Rampersad took the advice of a stranger, running a comb through the water at Grand Chemin beach with the hope that her son’s body would resurface.

Within minutes, Rampersad, 37, heard the shout of divers who had found the body of her son Kesion Rampersad.

Kesion would have celebrated his 21st birthday yesterday. His body was found around 11am by Coast Guard divers submerged in almost the same spot where he disappeared while bathing with friends at the beach on Sunday evening.

Police said Kesion was among a group of four in the water who got into difficulty close to the Gran Chemin river mouth. His three friends were rescued, but Kesion’s body could not be found.

A distraught Rampersad said Kesion had been warned not to go to the beach with his friends on Sunday but did not listen. Kesion lived at Bunsee Trace, Penal Rock Road, Penal with his father Siewchan Rampersad and his brothers, Tristan, 17, and Aashish,11.

Siewchan, 46, who suffers with high blood pressure and diabetes, was taken to hospital after he fainted on the beach when the body was discovered.

“If he had listened to his father, he wouldn’t be here now. His brother asked him to go Clifton Hill beach with them and he said no, he had other plans. I guess his death was calling him,” Rampersad said.

Dozens of Kesion’s relatives gathered at the beach yesterday, some assisting Coast Guard divers while others waited for his body to resurface.

As a relative soaked Rampersad’s head with Bay Rum to prevent her from fainting, she tearfully recalled her last conversation with Kesion.

“I messaged him and asked how he was doing and to remind him his sister was coming to tie a rakhi for him on Sunday.”

She was referring to the Hindu festival of Raksha Bandhan which celebrates the bond of love between brothers and sisters and was celebrated on Sunday.

“Amelia wait and wait for him to come for her to tie the rakhi, the poor child still waiting.”

She said her sister and other relatives had stayed on the beach overnight, waiting to see if Kesion’s body would surface on his own. When she got to the beach around 8am, Rampersad said she followed her elders’ advice to pray to the sea and ask for her son’s body.

“I offered flowers and prayed and begged for him, but it was only when a man was passing and he saw us, he said to take a comb and comb the water and the body would be found.”

WPC Stoute of the Moruga police is continuing investigations.