Dad’s desperate bid to save drowning child
A FATHER desperately tried to save his 13-yearold son’s life after the boy drowned while swimming with friends at a lake in Co. Down.
Tributes have been paid to Jay Moffett, 13, who died on Monday after getting into difficulty in the Canal Court area of Scarva at about 3.30pm.
It’s understood that he went to the popular swimming spot to cool off after temperatures reached highs of around 25C in the area. He is said to have got into difficulty sometime after entering the water.
The teen was recovered by his father, Wayne Moffett, who administered first aid before Jay was transported to Craigavon Hospital by Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service
(NIFRS). He was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
The family said in a statement: ‘We are heartbroken by the loss of our beautiful Jay. He was a much loved son, brother, grandson, nephew and cousin who lit up the lives of everyone who knew him in his 13 years.
‘We are grateful for the support we have received at this terrible time.’
Local Reverend Rodney Magennis offered his parish the opportunity to attend his church throughout the day.
‘As a church in the heart of Scarva village we are deeply saddened by the tragic death of a 13-year-old boy in a local lake,’ he said.
‘It is a tragic event to happen in such a beautiful village. Everyone is feeling the shock’
Jay is survived by his father Wayne and mother Caroline, his brother Ollie and sister Daisy, and his grandparents Tom and Hilary Greer who run the Park Inn pub in Scarva.
The teen’s boxing club in Tullyish said its members are ‘deeply saddened’ following the ‘tragic and untimely passing of our muchloved club member’.
NIFRS Group Commander Gary Magwood told RTÉ that the boy got into difficulty while swimming with a group of friends in a lake in the Canal Court area of Scarva.
He said the tragedy has had a ‘devastating impact’ on the emergency crews who attended the scene, as well as on the wider community.
Mr Magwood added there were six waterrelated fatalities in the UK at the weekend.