12-year-old boy dies in rafting accident during school trip to the Poconos: Superintendent
School officials identified the boy as Cesar Albarracin Guncay.
A 12-year-old boy from New York died in a rafting accident during an annual class trip to the Poconos in Pennsylvania, school officials said.
The incident occurred Wednesday evening on the Lehigh River in East Penn Township, according to the Carbon County Coroner's Office.
Carbon County Coroner Jason Smith said his office responded to a reported drowning around 6:12 p.m. Wednesday.
Prior to their arrival, the child had been removed from the water by the Lehighton Fire Department Dive Team, he said.
The child was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. Wednesday, Smith said in a statement, calling it a "tragic loss."
An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday to determine the cause and manner of death, according to Smith.
The student was a sixth grader in the Sag Harbor Union Free School District on Long Island, school officials said, identifying him as Cesar Albarracin Guncay.
"There are no words to adequately express the depth of this loss," Sag Harbor Superintendent Jeff Nichols said in a letter to parents on Wednesday while sharing the "devastating news" of the student's death.
"Cesar was a cherished member of our school family, a child who mattered deeply to all who had the privilege of knowing him," Nichols said. "His absence will leave an irreplaceable space in our classrooms, our hallways and our lives."
The incident is being investigated by the Carbon County Coroner's Office, in coordination with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.