A father’s dream to one day see his son become a soldier has come to naught.
This was after his four-year-old son, Timoci Loco, drowned in a rubbish pit full of rainwater next to their home at Sawakasa, Tailevu, on Wednesday.
Isoa Musuqio said goodbye to his second eldest son, Timoci, when he left for Nausori town at 9am on Wednesday morning not knowing it would be their last goodbyes.
“When I left home that morning he was just playing in front of our house,” a grieving Mr Musuqio said.
“Around 11am I received a call from my wife saying she was looking for our son; she thought I had taken him with me to Nausori. She told me that they’ve checked all possible places.”
He said he advised his wife, Unaisi Rokotuisuva, to check at the rubbish pit however she told him they had and he was not there.
“When I returned home at around 3.30pm I went and searched the bushes and mangrove patch but still couldn’t find him,” he said.
“The only thought that came to me was someone had abducted him or he must have fallen into the dump which was full of water and was very deep,” he said.
“I then went and tried sweeping my hands inside but couldn’t feel anything because it was too deep so I brought a long bamboo pole and swept it inside the water when I felt something solid.
“I knew it wasn’t rubbish so I tried once more and his foot came first.”
Mr Musuqio said he tried reviving Timoci but it was too late.
He said his family was still trying to come to terms with the tragic death of their son.
“We miss him so much. He always told me that he wants to become a soldier and I have always worked hard to ensure that he achieved his dream but it’s no more now,” he said.
The drowning death toll currently stands at 25 compared to 36 for the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the Police are once again pleading with parents and guardians to ensure that their children were under supervision at all times.
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