The family of the dead man who was found floating in the Qawa River have declined to comment and directed all media questions to Police.

The father of the deceased who is in his late 20s had identified his son as a member of the family from Vunika, Labasa.

This was confirmed by Pastor Sanaila Nayaca, who found the body floating down the Qawa River when returning from collecting firewood on Friday afternoon.

“After raising the alarm some people including those in the neighbourhood started gathering at the scene,” Pastor Nayaca said.

“Before the Police arrived, a man had noticed the clothes worn by the person floating in the river, he started to pour out his anguish and ran towards the body trying to revive him.

“It was later confirmed to me that it was the father of the dead man.”

Pastor Nayaca said he had brought his boat to dock near a wooden pier, when he noticed the body of a person floating in the river between the boat and the pier.

“I was still stunned so we called the Police to report the matter,” he said.

“Some of those who had identified the body and knew the victim made calls to the family.”

Police spokesperson Ana Naisoro confirmed that the victim was from Vunika, Labasa, and was last seen with friends on a night out after work on Wednesday.

The family had lodged a missing person’s report when he failed to return home.

A post mortem examination will be conducted to determine the cause of death as investigations continue.

Edited by Percy Kean

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