By the WBWTN News Team | May 3, 2025
San Ignacio, Cayo (WBWTN) -A tragic incident took place this morning, Saturday, May 3rd, 2025, when 15-year-old DeShawn Nazir Najera lost his life in a drowning accident near the Hawksworth Bridge, across from the Beach Park on the San Ignacio side of town.
Just before 9:00 a.m., emergency services were alerted about a possible drowning in the river. When authorities arrived, they were informed that a young boy had gone under while swimming. People in the area helped look for him, and after about 20 minutes, he was located in the water and brought to shore.
Police at the scene quickly started performing life-saving measures in an attempt to revive him. Not long after, EMT personnel arrived and continued the resuscitation before taking him to the San Ignacio Community Hospital, where medical staff made further attempts to save his life. Sadly, he was pronounced dead at 9:55 a.m.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Nazir was at the river as part of a church BBQ fundraiser intended to raise money for an upcoming summer camp. He was one of seven children participating in the event, which was under the supervision of three adults.
The group arrived at the river around 8:15 a.m., and instructions were given that no one was to go into the water until further notice. However, a few of the boys entered the river shortly after and swam across, during which Nazir began to struggle and went under.
One of the supervising adults received a phone call about the incident and quickly returned to the scene, where police had already begun searching the river. With the help of two men nearby, Nazir’s body was located and brought to shore.
No signs of foul play were observed. Nazir, a resident of San Ignacio Town, had been granted permission by his grandmother to attend the church event.
Nazir’s body was later transported to the San Ignacio Community Hospital, where it was placed in the morgue.
