Guyana: Teen drowns after freezer flips over in Atlantic Ocean, 2nd drowning in one hour

Guyana: Emmanuel Downer, a 14-year-old student at Lancaster Secondary School in Mahaica, Guyana, is reported to have drowned on March 26, 2025. The Haslington Village resident, who lived on the East Coast Demerara, tragically lost his life around 4 pm at Unity Beach in Mahaica. 

Soon after the incident took place, the police was reported and the preliminary investigations revealed that the teenager along with three other students had left school in the afternoon and went to Unity Beach, where they went swimming in the Atlantic Ocean.  

One of these students told the investigators that they all entered an old freezer and while sailing out in the water, the freezer capsized after which Downer suddenly disappeared. While the other three boys managed to swim ashore, Downer could not make it and went under the water.  

Soon after the disappearance, one of the students called the victim’s mother, Elisha Dailey, and informed her of the incident. As a result, a report was made by the mother to the Cove and John Police Station in Guyana, leading to the formation of a search party.  

According to the reports, the body of Downer was found around 500 meters away from shore on a sandbank in the Atlantic, entangled in a fishing seine and lying face-up. The investigators processed the scene and took pictures and also confirmed that no visible marks of violence were observed on the victim’s body. 

The body was transported to the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home where it awaits a post-mortem examination.  

The incident marked the second drowning incident which took place in Guyana within one hour. A two year old Tauren McLeanon reportedly drowned around 3 pm in the Upper Berbice River after he went out of the sight of his family and walked towards the river located right behind his house, leading to his tragic death.  

Following these incidents, the police officials urged the locals to take care of their children and also asked teenagers not to go for a swim alone in the ocean to avoid such tragic incidents.