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| Rafael Pizarro |
Attempts to help a friend conquer his fears of water backfired when the young teenager died.
The boy of the United Kingdom, who did not know how to swim, drowned after he jumped into a canal in an attempt to overcome his fear of water.
13-year-old Rafael Pizarro jumped into the Rochdale Canal in Manchester, together with his friends.
An inquest heard that the friends counted down together before jumping into water.
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| The stretch of the Rochdale Canal where the accident happened |
However, Pizarro panicked when he found himself in the middle of the 9-foot-wide canal. He began waving his arms in a desperate attempt to get out of the water.
Three friends tried to save him, but Pizarro disappeared underwater. A witness came to his aid and pulled the teenager out of the water.
He was rushed to a hospital, where he died nine days later with his family at his side.
Rafael’s mother Maria called on the Canal & River Trust to do more to warn the people of the dangers of jumping into the water after it emerged that there were no warning signs in the area.
