EAST PENN TWP., Pa. – A superintendent from a school district in New York said a sixth-grade student is dead after a rafting accident in Carbon County Wednesday.
Superintendent Jeff Nichols of the Sag Harbor School District confirmed the passing of the student, stating “There are no words to adequately express the depth of this loss.”
The student was a “cherished member of our school family, a child who mattered deeply to all who had the privilege of knowing him,” Nichols said. “His absence will leave an irreplaceable space in our classrooms, our hallways, and our lives.”
Nichols said the district is offering counseling services to students.
In a news release about the child’s death, the Carbon County Coroner’s Office said it responded to the area of the D&L Trail at mile marker 99 along the Lehigh River in East Penn Township, Carbon County for a reported drowning.
The coroner’s office said the 12-year-old child had already been removed from the water before its arrival. The child was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday to determine the cause and manner of death.
Crews ended the search Wednesday for the student. Authorities tell us this happened when the person was rafting with a large group.
A large group were rafting Wednesday around 5 p.m. At some point, the raft flipped over.
Video from the scene shows multiple agencies searching on land and in the river for the person who fell into the water.
A raft can be seen on its side in the water up against a downed tree, reading that it’s from the “Whitewater Rafting Adventures” in Nesquehoning.
The coroner’s office and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission are investigating the death.