Another toddler has drowned in the latest drowning cases in the country.

Two-year-old Laitia Uluikadavu is alleged to have fallen into the Rewa River at his Viria Village in Naitasiri last Thursday afternoon. His body was found floating down river at Nacokaika Village, also in Naitasiri, last Friday.

He was last seen standing alone beside the river waiting for his siblings to return from school.

His father, Jone Roko, a saw mill machine operator in Sawani, said the family remained shocked over the death of his son. He was at work when his son went missing.

“He was at home with his mother, Selai Vakatale and had gone to wait for my children to return from school. While my children were on the other side of the river, they said they saw him standing by the river and the next time they looked again he was gone,” Mr Roko said.

“When they came home they started looking around the village for him, but couldn’t find him. We then searched everywhere, but we could not find him.”

He said Laitia was usually seen sitting at a footpath beside the river in the afternoons.

“He usually sits there to wait for his siblings, but we did not know how he fell into the river. We thought he might have just been somewhere around our home.

“I feel so bad now. My son had so many potential, but now it has all been cut short,” he said.

Laitia’s body is at the Wainibokasi Hospital awaiting a post-mortem.

Meanwhile, Police spokesperson Inspector Atunaisa Sokomuri again advised parents to ensure that their children were under supervision at all times.

The drowning death toll now stands at 27 compared to 36 for the same period last year.

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