Heartbreak In The UK: Zimbabwean Teen Dies In Freak Irish Beach Accident

Zimbabwean Teen Dies In Freak Beach Accident In UK

A Zimbabwean teenager has died in a heartbreaking accident off the coast of Ireland, leaving two communities in mourning.

Eighteen-year-old Matt Sibanda, a student at Crana College in Buncrana, County Donegal, drowned after entering the water at Ned’s Point to retrieve a football.

His friend, Emmanuel Familola, 16, originally from Nigeria, also died following the tragic incident earlier this month.

“This kind of tragedy speaks to the human in every one of us,” Father Francis Bradley, the local parish priest told the BBC.

Matt’s funeral is expected to take place shortly, following a visit by his grieving family to the site of the tragedy. His grandmother travelled from Zimbabwe with his two adult siblings to be with Matt’s mother and seven-year-old sister.

‘He never once disobeyed her’

Father Bradley described Matt as “devoted to his mother” and deeply cherished by his younger sister.

“She said she could put her hand on the Bible and say that he never once disobeyed her,” he told BBC News NI.

“Can you imagine what it means to her then to lose somebody as special as this?”

He added:

“Matt’s little sister is full of life. She’s a gift from above. The way he would watch over her, teach her to ride a bike – it’s deeply touching.”

A ritual was held at the pier, led by Matt’s grandmother, as a way of releasing his soul.

“It was so important that she come for a little gesture so they could, in their terms, release his soul allowing him to go to heaven,” said Father Bradley.

‘Terrible grief’ descends on Buncrana

The accident has sent shockwaves through the Buncrana community. According to BBC News NI, the boys had been playing football on the beach when the ball went into the water. Three of them entered the sea. Only one made it back to shore.

Matt’s body was recovered later that evening from Lough Swilly. Emmanuel was pulled from the water and taken to Letterkenny University Hospital, where he passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Community worker Ruth Garvey-Williams said the impact on the families had been devastating.

“These are amazing people who have fled terrible tragedies in their home countries and came to find safety here in Buncrana – and then to face this. It’s every mother’s worst nightmare,” she said.

“It was a heartbreaking moment – to be with a mother when her oldest son was dying there.”

‘Gifted in so many ways’

Father Bradley remembered Matt as a boy “gifted in so many ways”.

“Not just in the way that people might speak after someone dies, but in a real sense. He looked to the needs of others before himself.”

Hundreds attended a service in memory of the boys at St Mary’s Oratory in Buncrana. A vigil was also held in Derry, where flowers were thrown into the River Foyle.