A Long Island sixth grader tragically died while rafting on a school trip in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, officials said.
Cesar Albarracin Guncay, a 12-year-old student in the Sag Harbor Union Free School District, was one of five people in a raft on the Lehigh River when it capsized around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, throwing everyone overboard, the district said in a statement.
While the others managed to get to safety, Guncay did not immediately resurface.
Officials from the Carbon County Coroner’s Office were called to D&L Trail along the Lehigh River around 6 p.m. — by the time they arrived, the Lehighton Fire Department Dive Team had already pulled Guncay’s body from the water.
He was pronounced dead less than an hour later.
Officials expressed their profound grief over the tragedy.
“There are no words to adequately express the depth of this loss,” Sag Harbor Superintendent Jeff Nichols said in a statement.
“Cesar was a cherished member of our school family, a child who mattered deeply to all who had the privilege of knowing him,” the statement continued.
“His absence will leave an irreplaceable space in our classrooms, our hallways and our lives.”
Guncay was one of 74 students on the school trip.
School counseling staff will be available to students, said Nichols.
He also encouraged members of the community to reach out to the Response Crisis Center and the Long Island Crisis Center if help is needed.
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