Sixth-grade student dies after rafting accident during school field trip: ‘There are no words’

Cesar Albarracin Guncay, 12, died in a rafting accident during a school trip to the Poconos - (GoFundMe)

A 12-year-old Long Island boy died Wednesday after a raft overturned during a school trip to Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains.

Cesar Albarracin Guncay, a sixth grader at Pierson Middle School in Sag Harbor, was among five people, including at least one adult, aboard an inflatable raft on the Lehigh River in Carbon County when it flipped around 5:30 p.m. during the school's annual guided excursion, the Carbon County Coroner’s Office said in a news release. The capsize sent everyone into the water, but Guncay did not immediately resurface.

Divers later recovered the boy from the river, and emergency crews took him to a nearby park, where he was pronounced dead around 6:50 p.m. An autopsy determined the cause of death was accidental drowning, according to the coroner’s office.

Officials believe Guncay was wearing a life jacket at the time of the accident, though the investigation remains ongoing, NBC News reports.

"There are no words to adequately express the depth of this loss," district superintendent Jeff Nichols said in an email to families Wednesday, NBC New York reports. "Cesar was a cherished member of our school family, a child who mattered deeply to all who had the privilege of knowing him. His absence will leave an irreplaceable space in our classrooms, our hallways, and our lives."

"Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to Cesar’s family and friends during this very sad time,” Nichols continued. "We will keep them in our thoughts and prayers."

A GoFundMe set up for Guncay’s family remembered him as “a kind, handsome and athletic 6th grader, a friend to many and a beloved neighborhood kid here in Sag Harbor.”

The fundraiser was set up to “support the family” and has raised over $207,000 towards a $350,000 goal as of Friday.

Guncay’s cousin told NBC New York that he had moved from Ecuador to the U.S. three years ago ahead of his parents and was excited about the rafting portion of the school trip. Crying, the cousin described Guncay as a soccer and art-loving boy who learned English and was living the American dream.