Inquest Rules Teen’s Tragic Liffey Drowning as Accidental

By Michaela Althouse

Featured in Metro Eireann

 

The death of a promising young soccer player last year has been ruled accidental due to drowning, according to a recent coroner’s inquest.

Frank Mekang, 13, died on 14 May 2016 after getting into dif culty while swimming in the River Liffey near Phoenix Park with his teammates after a match.

Testimony by Frank’s coach Keith Norton revealed that such river swims had occurred a few times earlier in the season, but were not sanctioned or supervised by the club.

Norton said he went with the boys that day to provide some form of adult supervision, and had just finished asking them to wrap things up when Frank said he wanted to join them in the water.

Though Norton said he believed the Cameroonian youngster did not know how to swim and advised against it, some of Frank’s teammates convinced him to try.

Shortly after jumping in, Frank began to struggle, and Norton said he jumped in right

after to rescue him, but the teen was panicking and ended up slipping off his back.

Norton said he was unable to reach Frank again, and was forced to get out of the water to speak to an emergency operator who he claimed would not take a call placed by his son, one of Frank’s teammates.

 

The inquest also heard that a life ring that should have been available at that stretch of the river was missing, presumably removed by vandals.

Frank Mekang’s body was recovered by specialist divers at 3.53pm, eight metres down- stream from the jetty where he had entered the water. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The coroner’s report stated that Frank was otherwise healthy, with nothing found in his autopsy that contributed to his death by drowning.

Metro Éireann reported on Frank’s death earlier this year, when his migrant mother made a plea for answers as to why he went to the water at all despite not knowing how to swim.

The judge, who expressed her deepest condolences to the family, said that given all the surrounding circumstances, the death proved to be an accident.

She gave a recommendation that the public not interfere with lifesaving devices, and hoped this may prevent any similar tragedies in the future.