29 June 2023 , 08:11
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The family of a young man who drowned in a shocking accident have blasted bystanders who filmed him struggling for his life before uploading his final moments to social media.
Wassiou Leon Ayawe, 19, died after the jet ski he was travelling on in the water at Lough Derg in County Clare, Ireland flipped over on May 31.
The Limerick teen's foster mother Sandra Byrnes, who first began to care for him when he was just nine weeks old, said he had bought the motorised craft just one day before the accident.
On the day, she was at work as a healthcare assistant with the Irish Health Service Executive when Wassiou called and asked if he could collect the keys to the jet ski, which were in her car.
Wassiou Leon Ayawe, 19, died after the jet ski he was travelling on flipped over
Sandra Byrnes has asked 'what kind of person films someone drowning instead of doing something?'Despite telling him she had a "bad feeling" about letting him use it and asking him to wait until a planned trip to the coast at the weekend, she said Wassiou was "impatient" and eventually came to get the keys.
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Sandra told the Limerick Post: "The last words I spoke to him were to tell him to stay safe. A few hours later, he was dead."
But after suffering the pain of losing her foster child, she was stunned in the days following the tragedy to see footage appear on social media showing Wassiou's struggle in the water.
Questioning why the bystanders didn't do more to help, she fumed: "What kind of person films someone drowning instead of doing something? Or even throwing a lifebuoy?
"And then to share that on social media? Did they even think how that would make his family feel?"
Sandra managed to have the content taken down, but she said there are many things about the tragedy which continue to haunt her - such as her decision to take him out to the same spot the day before for photographs, Irish Mirror reports.
She also had the tragic task of identifying the young man after he was taken from the water, but said that even then he looked "beautiful and "as though he was asleep."
The foster mum believes he would still be alive today if he was wearing his life jacket and has thanked the Killaloe Coast Guard and dive teams, who also brought up her 24-year-old Yasmin-Lee Williams when she died by suicide in 2019.
She is also campaigning to have lifesaving equipment placed behind glass at the riverside location, and is organising a six-a-side football tournament to raise money and help "keep Wassiou's legacy alive". It is hoped it will become an annual event in his memory.
A spokesperson for the Irish Coast Guard said: "Irish Coast Guard was alerted to an incident where a jet ski had gotten into difficulty in the area between Ballina, Co. Tipperary and Killaloe, Co Clare.
"Valentia Coast Guard coordinated a search and rescue operation in conjunction with An Garda Siochana and the National Ambulance Service.
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"Shannon based Coast Guard helicopter R115 and Killaloe Coast Guard Unit were tasked to the scene. Two casualties made their way to shore. Following a further search of the area, a third casualty was recovered who has unfortunately lost his life. The Irish Coast Guard extends their sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased."