6yo Boy Dies 2 Years After Accident During School Trip

Story By: Juan Fenandez Mayes,  Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency:  Newsflash

This six-year-old boy has died two years after falling into a pond during a school trip.

The tragic news of six-year-old Kurtis’ death was announced by the victim’s family two years after the accident during a trip with his school which is based in the Anderlecht municipality in the Belgian capital of Brussels.

They were visiting the Gaasbeek Castle in Lennik municipality when he was aged just four in October 2018.

Justice pour Kurtis/Newsflash

Kurtis Best was taken to hospital in critical condition after he fell into a pond and a passerby resuscitated him after he was taken out of the water.

However, the lack of oxygen caused fatal brain damage which he was unable to fully recover from and he died on Tuesday, 6th October, according to reports.

His mum, who is named Meya, made a post on a Facebook page called ‘Justice for Kurtis’ saying: “Goodbye my child” adding that she “will never forget this Black Tuesday”.

The incident sparked concern and outrage among some parents who questioned if the supervisor’s from the trip were paying enough attention to the children, however, there have been no official reports supporting the claims.

Justice pour Kurtis/Newsflash

According to the local newspaper, ‘Het Laatste Nieuws’ Meya claimed other students “told their parents the teachers were sitting on a bench” while they “smoked and checked their phones” and “only when the children called them did they realise” about Kurtis’ accident.

Local media report Kurtis was taken to a clinic a couple of months after the accident where he was set to receive treatment, however, while there he went into a coma from which he never recovered before he died.

Protests occurred following the accident as well and the school’s management stepped down. An investigation was opened but was “filed without consequence” as none of the adults at the trip were charged, according to the same report by Het Laatste Nieuws.

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