A 13-year-old boy drowned in Kyoto's Kamogawa River on Sunday, police said.
It is believed that the boy, identified as Masayuki Maruyama, and a friend were wading in the river when a torrent suddenly washed them away. According to police, Maruyama went under, while his companion was able to pull himself to safety. Maruyama's body was later recovered from the riverbed.
© Compiled from news reports
9 Comments
Login to comment
Disillusioned
Sad end to a day playing in the river for these kids, but it is the first of many drownings as the summer season kicks off.
haran3375
There is nothing worse than seeing wreaths of flowers left on a riverbank in Japan knowing that a life has been lost,,,,,,
tmarie
Aloha, you don't seem to understand the concept of a strong river current and a panicking kid. Next time you try it and let's see how you fair!
nandakandamanda
The rivers here are notoriously fickle.
If that were not enough, there is a surprising amount of dangerous stuff thrown into them, like old bicycles, wire, steel, concrete building materials etc., onto which even a good swimmer can get snagged. You need to know your river and choose your spot carefully.
ihavegreatlegs
The tragic thing about Japan is that it is an island country, but hardly anyone can swim. Japan's pools are so over crowded that there is no way to learn to swim at one, and most schools do not teach them either.
citizen12
Why didnt you try to save him seeing as you must have been there to say something like that?
alohajapan
his companion was able to pull himself to safety
Why did he not try to save his friend? I guess it is okay to leave our friends behind.
papigiulio
Really tragic. No people around to help? Theres always a lot of people sitting on the riverbeds of kamogawa.
lesgrande
The lady giveth, the lady taketh...