An afternoon out with friends at the Coconut Beach in Portsmouth yesterday ended in tragedy with the death of 23-year-old John James.
According to Deputy Police Commissioner Cyril Carrette, James was sea bathing and went beneath the water. He noted that efforts were made to revive him.
A resident familiar with the situation said that James, along with his friends, were consuming alcoholic drinks that afternoon, after which he went to the beach. While at the beach, James took a dive in the sea and upon noticing that he was underneath the water for a while his friends went in to rescue him.
A non-national conducted Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on James when he was brought to shore. She managed to resuscitate him, but on the way to the Reginald F. Armour Hospital in Portsmouth he succumbed.
He was pronounced dead by the Portsmouth district medical doctor, Carrette stated.
He added that a postmortem will be conducted and a coroner’s inquest will be convened into James’ death.
my heart broke reading about the loss of one of my glanvillia brothers. he was not my age but his brother shaggy grew up with me.i live in the US now but saw the kid when i was home last yr.i remember telling my wife that kid always smiling and i like that about him.
it is said that when death comes to one of us,it comes to all of us.it is the one thing that we all have in common.and to all the people that are making comments about drinking and diving and young people this and that,this is not the time for that,let the family morn and take all this up with the people in govt and those responsible for our legislature. da is truly free and sometime that leads to our demise.
to shaggy, miss clara. i can not express how much hurt that you guys are going through,no parent should ever have to bury their child.so from me and my famliy i want to say sorry for ur loss.he is gone but he will always be in our hearts as that long,troublesome,laughter bring and illuminating guys that he was.
love you guys and may God bless you lamar
I never imagined u wud leave me so soon bro u will always be in my heart ur memory will live on 4ever rip bro love ya
didnt really kno u…………..
but i mean we are all one.. wen on edies all of us feels it!!
R>IP me boy..
hope your family keep the faith and stay strong!!!!!
Aye rest in peace Long John. up too now i still can’t believe it eh… yah John is one of the coolest person i know… always have a smile on his face… gone but NEVER forgotten. we’ll meet on the other side.
@Anonymous:
He would have been better off sleeping it off. Unfortunately, it was obvious that his friends were also not aware of the danger of drinking and then going for a swim.
@Gene, Toronto:
I mean serious what are you saying? I stated that a lesson should be learnt from this. We must warn our young people about the dangers of drinking. I have seen this demon taking over the very young. What is your message from this tragedy to the young people of the country. Why does the govt have to identify any dangerous place.
On behalf of my family i want to extend my deepest condolences to the family on the passing of John John. As you grieve clara may the God of heaven bring you and the entire family comfort. the bible says that one of these days God will put an end to death. 1 Corinthians 15:52-55. also they that mourn shall be comforted Matthew 5:4
we are praying for you. God bless
claudette Glanvillia
what is going on in DA every week some young person dying, this is really sad news
@frederic: R. I. P my classmate , Clara, Sharon, Shaggey, Babs and Joanna our deepest condolences to u all ………………may the good God comfort all.
Wow!!! we went to PGS together…We had some great times…RIP John…You will be missed
@Worried:
Concentrate on safety first. Precaution is better than cure. A life gone to eternity will obviously not be returned. Common sense and safety are necessary for preserving injury and life as driving: “Do not drink and drive” and vice versa.
Consuming, specifically a certain amount of alcohol and also eating a heavy meal should be avoided prior to immediately swimming. The stomach should be relatively empty, free of heaviness (weight) of any sort when going for a swim. I am not insinuating that one must be hungry.
Generally, people have breakfast and after a few hours go for a swim. This is OK. As being on a picnic, after swimming, they return to have a luncheon meal. This is what should be done.
Even prior to going to bed, the stomach should not be full for obvious reasons. I recall, as children, if we ate dinner, my parents would ensure that it would be approximately two hours before going to bed to allow the food to digest. He would warn us about not going to bed immediately after eating and lying down, be it after lunch. In this Canadian country, as adults, we are not always cautious about this wise advice.
If people do not swim or sufficiently so, they should also avoid swimming in deep water or if they are aware the current is strong in that area.
I have heard of some areas where the current has pulled swimmers who died.
For safety reasons, the government should identify those dangerous places and place buoys and/or signs about the danger of swimming in those areas.
Fellow Dominicans, please lobby the government to warn people of those areas and the danger of swimming when consuming alcohol and eating a heavy meal prior to swimming. For areas where there are dangerous currents, also lobby the government to place appropriate signs and warnings. Through the years, I have heard of some sad stories of loss of life while swimming in certain areas in Dominica.
In addition, a country as Dominica which seeks, encourages and is need of tourism to boost its economy, the government should advise them of the dangers of swimming in such areas.
In Canada of all, the dangerous areas in lakes are so identified: “Danger – No swimming beyond this point.” Therefore, people swim at their own peril. Later, their families cannot sue the government.
I pray that God had mercy on the soul of this man. God is merciful and no one knows what transpired between God and the soul as it made the transition from life to death. There is more to state about this. May his soul rest in peace. Amen!
All of us have lost loved ones through whatever means. As long as life lasts, we will continue to do so and so we feel the family and friends pain of his unexpected passing.
May God sustain his family and friends who grieve his loss. Only time heals as memories prevail.
Holy Scripture: “Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep/mourn with those who weep and mourn.” This is a godly Christian act as God expects of us.
God bless you all.
To the family of the young man be comforted, that God doesn’t make mistakes. He needs him more than we do here. As a mother whose young son died not too long a go, i say, just trust in God, and he will give you the strength to go on. My condolences to you in this critical time. To the person who performed CPR, we say thank you for your help, and GOD bless you richly
@STAFFY:
Even while we are sleeping.
i was the one with the help of john’s friend who fished him out of the water. it was only after kwan and i pumped his lower chest and administered cpr that he started breathing. i had already called the police and the fire service and also family members. I was the one who ran down the beach to call two white women who i thought are medical students then went to the parking area to await the police and ambulance. I cant say that john had no alcohol in his system cause he may have bee drinking before he got to the beach but john and his friends had no alcohol on the beach. john and his friend came on the beach in a boat to meet with three other friends that were already on the beach.
i believe that if john would have been treated on the beach by trained fire officers instead of been transported to hospital waisting life saving time then he may have servived. a drowning person needs to be treated on sight,stabilized and then transported to hospital. i saw every thing that happened and kwan and i tried every thing we could to save this young man’s life but he had already spent between eight and ten minuits under water before we realized that he had not returned from the water.. he was the only one in the water at the time.
the maker keeps calling us to be by his side we better be ready for when he calls… RIP John I didn’t know u but I know ur family must be going through a lot of pain right now I lost my good friend last Sunday through drowning, I still can’t believe that he gone so I want to extend condolences to the family of John may he RIP. keep strong and pray to God to help u guys make it through.
It’s shocking news. Be careful people, Bazile knocks on our door at time!
I hope people are getting a message in this. Too many times i see young people consuming alcohol by the beach and rivers as if there is no tomorrow. Let us all use these tragedies to save our young people who seem to want to think that they are invincible. May this young man soul rest in peace. But hope his drinking buddies learnt a lesson.
@Haterz Get Yours: trust me…wen i got dat call, i couln’t hold it…i saw d man in d morning..he took my bat n dere playing batsman,then he laughed n said. “that 2 short 4 me boy,that will break my waiste.” we had a couple laughs as he gave it back n went away..i was goin to an outing, and i didnt even get 2 c d man after….i got the news b4 i came back down..OMG..still cant blv…RIP LONG JOHN…i fell so strange writin dat..stupes..hmphmmm..
I truly sorry for what occur, to the family I am sorry for what happen. hold on strong RIP
To the person named Sadden, you have a good message for the rest of us in Dominica.
Many people do not know that drinking and swimming is even more deadly than drinking and driving. The influence of alcohol distorts the functions of the brain: You stumble when you walk, you stutter when you talk, you cannot control the functions of your arm and hands, and your memory becomes inefficient.
Swimming demands that the brain is in its normal function and alcohol interferes with that efficiency.
If John James and his friends were aware of that fact, he could have been alive today.
So fellow Dominicans, please take note. It is great to decide to go out and have some fun of swimming and drinking at the beach; but remember to do all your swimming first. After that you can continue with the fun with all your beers, your ginger wine, and your rums, and what else, but be sure that you go home alive.
I do not know John James, but I wish that he did not have to die so young. He is such a handsome young dude. However, may his soul rest in peace. My sympathy goes out to members of his family as well.
To Sadden: You have got it right, and I hope the rest of us Dominicans have gotten the message.
Women and men, wives and husbands, boyfriends and girlfriend, friends altogether, it is great to have a day of fun and entertainment on the beach. But Sadden has said it, just like drinking driving, alcohol and swimming do not go together.
Once you are under the influence of alcohol, your brain functions become distorted: You stumble as you walk, you stutter as you speak, you cannot control what hands do, and your memory become inefficient.
Going under water demands that the brain is in a normal state of function, alcohol interferes with that efficiency. If John James and his friends were aware of that fact, he probably would be alive today. It is just deadly to go under water when one is under the influence of alcohol.
So the rest of you, who go to the beach to have fun, make sure that you swim as much as you can first; then continue to drink your beers, your ginger wine, and your rums, as you enjoy yourselves and to go home alive.
I do not know John James, but I wish that he did not have to die so young. May His soul rest in peace..
rip john john
rip…..my solider….may Ur soul rest in peace…..to the family all i can say is hold on strong…..jojo be kool.peace………..
do not drink and drive
drink and dive
Ms. Clara,
Only God knows what you are feeling today. I pray that his comforting angels surround you and the rest of the family. You are a wonderful kind hearted woman and I know that God will take care of you.
Shagan and Barbara,Joanna and Shagan, comfort one another. He will be missed. R
yet another one gone….r.i.p my boy…my deepest condolences 2 the family and freinds…. i kno how u all are feeling rite now trust me cuz i 2 have a family memeber who drown just last week….lets k in mind that we always have 2 excpect the worst no matter how hard it may hit us….i hope u all get better within time…..
boy wen i hear dat i could not believe R.I.P
rest in peace mayne….
rip
Long time school mate of mine. R.I.P
oh dear yet another casualty condolences to the family…..
i strongly suspect we need life guards on our beaches trained and certified in CPR and equipped s with with all the necessary especial as Dominica is being marketed as a ‘strong’ tourism destination and very soon improved airport upgrade.
R.I.P ‘longalee’ i grew up with that niggah peace and much love to you Homie.
no drinking and driving ,no drinking and diving please lets not forget that .to the family that are left to morn ,may you find comfort in god and may the deceased rest in peace .
Sympathy to the family and friends. Can anyone give an update on where is from? Family etc??
john, john as we called u, u are gone but will never be forgotten, u use to make us laugh but now u brought tears in our eyes, R. I. P my boy, Clara, Sharon, Shaggey, Babs and Joanna our deepest condolences to u all god will the good lord will provide strength to u all through this sad times
may god strengthen ur in ur time of lost .hold strong barbara, joanna shaggan and miss clara
@frederic: it’s not only in Dominica that is happening
rip john,to babs,clara,joanna and shagan,i say hold strong
boyyyy u let alot of big men cry yesterday
rip john
oh dear god,please watch over us
RIP John. You will be missed greatly.Still in shock…….You’ll always be in my heart and mind…cuz when i look around all i see is you…
RIP my dear friend….
WHY A PEOPLE GETTING DROWNED SO OFTEN IN DOMINICA?
Rest in peace my brother we know you will be missed we go hold it down for you