Arima boy drowns at Hilton

A SCHOOL tour ended in tragedy yesterday when a student drowned while swimming at the Hilton Trinidad. According to reports, Shawn Antoine, 17, a student of the Excel Composite School at Southern main Road in Curepe, drowned while bathing at the hotel pool with fellow classmates, around 12.30 pm. Investigations revealed that Antoine, of  Third Street, South Samaroo Village in Arima, visited the Solo Factory on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway with other students and teachers as part of a planned outing. They then went to the hotel, which was part of their itinerary for the day. While in the pool with 11 other students, Antoine went to the deeper side and got into difficulty.

An alarm was raised and a security officer and a guest pulled him out. A nurse and doctor who were guests at the hotel attempted CPR, but were unsuccessful. The ambulance arrived soon after, but the teen was already dead. The outing had been planned several weeks ago. Officials of the school could not be reached for comment. No one could say if a lifeguard or security arrangements were made when the students were visiting the hotel. Cpl Mahase of the Belmont police is investigating.