The family of a 13-year-old boy who died in the River Taff last week have sent a heartbreaking message to his friends, thanking them for "being part of his short life". Aryan Ghoniya was found near Melingriffith water pump in Whitchurch on Tuesday, June 21 after a huge emergency services operation to find him.
Sadly, despite the best efforts of the emergency services, Aryan was unable to be resuscitated and was declared dead at the scene. Following the tragegy, Aryan's heartbroken family shared a poignant tribute to their beloved son and said he was their "Little Professor" who was "brilliant at maths, an all-rounder academically" and "very charming and caring".
The family later visited Windsor Gardens in Radyr where flowers, cards and balloons had been left in a beautiful tribute to the teenager. His funeral was held on Saturday at Thornhill Cemetery and Crematorium, where school friends carried his coffin with family and members of the community in attendance. You can find more about what happened here.
Following the funeral, Aryan's family have issued another statement thanking those who attended for their support and expressing their gratitude to the local community and the police. They also addressed the Radyr Comprehensive schoolboy's friends, telling them not to blame anyone for his death and to "cherish the memories" they have of him.
Read more: Mother’s beautiful tribute to son who died after telling others he wanted to be with his late father
The statement read: "On behalf of Aryan’s family, we wish to thank you all for your kind words, condolences, flowers and the support you all gave and showed, which has gone above and beyond what we would have imagined. To see the number of families who lined the roads braving the rain, vehicles coming to a standstill as the funeral procession drove past, during Aryan's final journey from his home in Danescourt, and going past his former primary school, then passing his comprehensive school in Radyr was truly unbelievable, and very emotional and wish to thank you all for this.
"The congregation gathering at Thornhill Crematorium, was yet again unbelievable, with families and friends of Aryan who had come to pay their last respects. We would like to thank you all for making arrangements to travel there. We wish to say a very big thank you to his friends who bravingly took the decision to carry Aryan into the chapel at a short request. The tears of sorrow we saw from the start and during the service was very overwhelming."
The family also thanked the school community and South Wales Police for their support. They added: "The speeches from Aryan's primary school headmistress Mrs Judith Davies and Mr Williams of Radyr Comprehensive were truly inspiring of Aryan, and we wish to thank you very much for this, and hope that your dedication inspiring children to become who they want to be in the future, and any support they need during this difficult time carries on.
"Special thanks to the South Wales Police personals that also attended Aryan's service, and for the incredible work and dedication to serve the public. We also appreciate the ongoing support we receive from Detective Constables Natasha Monkley, Tom Slocombe and Bob Chambers. We wish to thank Coles Funeral Directors for arranging the service within a short time, their professionalism, respecting and honouring how Aryan's final journey would be conducted was impeccable, even accommodating certain things at the family’s request on the spur of the moment wasn’t any trouble for them, which we truly appreciated."
In a message to Aryan's friends, the family said that the 13-year-old would have wanted them to make their families proud. They thanked them for their friendship and told them: "Do not despair."
They said: "Finally, to all of Aryan's friends, we thank you for being part of his short life, do not despair, do not blame anyone, his time here was short, cherish the memories you have of him, inspire yourself to become the person you want to be in life and make your family proud, as this is what Aryan would have wanted you to do.
"Aryans parents Jitu and Hina, would have very much wanted to thank those who attended Aryans farewell service personally, but due to a medical episode, the service was cut short and this was not possible, but we as family thank you all personally for being with us in saying goodbye to Aryan."
"We witnessed your emotions, we witnessed your tears, we witnessed your sorrow, we witnessed your love, we witnessed your support, we undisputedly witnessed that we were not alone, and wish to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you again for all your kind support."
In Aryan's memory, his family are now raising money for The Coastguard Association and 2Wish, a charity that provides support for those affected by sudden death in young people. You can donate here. To receive Cardiff news straight to your inbox subscribe to our newsletters here.
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