A 16-year-old miner has drowned in the Siparuni River, Region Eight, police say.
Bentley Joseph Jnr., of Circuitville, Yarrowkabra, Soesdyke-Linden Highway, died on September 20 while attempting to cross the river on foot with his cousin at an area known as Rock Bar.
Police said preliminary investigations revealed that Joseph and several others had travelled from their camp to an area known as Tunnel to engage in mining activities. While crossing the river, he reportedly fell into the rapidly flowing water and attempted to swim, but went under and did not resurface.
An alarm was raised and a search was conducted. His body was found floating in the river on September 22 at about 6:24am.
Police ranks who visited the area and examined the body observed no marks of violence and found no indication of foul play.
Joseph's body was transported to the Linden Hospital Complex, where he was pronounced dead on arrival by a doctor. It was subsequently taken to the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, where it awaits a post-mortem examination.
Investigations are ongoing.