A one-year-old boy has died after he tragically drowned during a family fishing trip when he was left unsupervised for ''a minute or so'' near a lake, an inquest heard. Little Melvin Gurung had been playing as his parents and other family members on the holiday were fishing for trout at Manningford Trout Fishery in Pewsey, Wiltshire, on November, 14 last year.
Disaster struck when Melvin's uncle went to the toilet and told the toddler to wait outside for him for a minute but discovered when he came out that the youngster was missing, the Mirror reports. Melvin's parents, dad Bikash and healthcare worker mum, Menuka were frantically searching for their Melvin when two plain clothed police officers offered to help them.
The boy, who was only ten days away from his second birthday, was found dead in the water just minutes later, after one of the police officers spotted his little red boots floating in 4ft reeds.
The inquest at Salisbury Coroner's Court heard Melvin and his Nepalese family travelled from their home in Farnborough to fish at the farm, where they regularly visited. At around 4pm, Melvin's parents went to fish at a nearby lake on the site and left him playing with relative Amrit Gurung.
"I played with him a bit and then we went to the toilet," said Amrit Gurung. "He was playing outside and I picked him up and told him I was going to the toilet and to wait there and that I would not be long. I was inside for a minute or so."
After he went missing the family started a search, initially thinking he might have been in the woods. Melvin's father got into his car and was checking the main road before DC Barratt and PC Jeremy Horner, who had been patrolling the area, joined the search and it was the former who found Melvin's body in the water
Bikash Gurung told the inquest: "He was just below the surface and was camouflaged by the tall reeds. He looked normal to me, just as beautiful as he always did. I said [to paramedics] take him to a warm place."
Paramedics desperately tended to Melvin in what was a described as a 'frantic situation' and he was airlifted to Salisbury District Hospital, Wilts, however he was pronounced dead later that day. Coroner Ian Singleton said: "I find the cause of death is drowning.
''Melvin was with his family visiting the trout fishery in the afternoon, he was left unattended for a short while. He was found on his back unresponsive in the lake.
''On the evidence, it's not possible to determine the precise sequence of events that led to him being found in the water."
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