A toddler drowned on a family day out after being left near a lake unsupervised, an inquest heard.
Melvin Gurung died whilst on a day-long fishing trip to Manningford Trout Fishery near Pewsey on 14 November last year – just ten days before his second birthday.
An inquest on 13 October heard how Melvin’s uncle left him for one minute whilst he went to the toilet, only for him to have gone missing upon his return.
He was found approximately half an hour later, three to four inches under the water and partially covered by weeds.
Before his death, he spent the day playing with his mum or one of his uncles, whilst the others took turns fishing at the lake.
A worker at the fishing site told this inquest that Melvin was ‘running around playing’ during the afternoon and was a ‘happy little boy’.
At around 4pm, Melvin was playing with his uncle Amrik Gurung whilst his other uncle, Nayan, had a nap in his car and his parents went fishing.
His uncle Amrik had to use the toilet, and told the toddler to stay where he was playing whilst he went. When he arrived back just one minute later, Melvin was gone.
He searched the immediate area, and went back towards the car to see if he was there and wake Nayan up. They soon called the police, who arrived at 4:28pm, to assist the search.
Two officers, PC Homer and PC Barret, began searching by the left side of the lake, when PC Barret spotted something red with white dots in the water – which later turned out to be welly boots.
He began to scream out ‘no, no’, before rushing into the lake. Melvin’s body was found under the water and hidden by weeds, explaining why his family hadn’t found him earlier.
Nayan Gurung identified Melvin’s body as it was pulled from the water, and officers quickly called for an ambulance and began CPR.
Although Melvin persistently vomited and water came out of his mouth, nose and ears during CPR, he showed no signs of being alert.
Officers and paramedics arrived at the scene, and Melvin was brought into the ambulance to bring his body temperature up.
Paramedics confirmed there were no suspicious bruises or injuries on his body as they removed his wet clothes and nappy.
He was flown to Salisbury District Hospital, where resuscitation attempts continued, but was sadly pronounced dead at 6:38pm about an hour after arriving at the hospital.
Detective Sergeant Sarah Mundy told the inquest that after speaking to doctors at the hospital, she had found no reason to believe that the death was anything but accidental.
The inquest concluded that Melvin’s cause of death was the inhalation of water (drowning).
Area coroner Ian Singleton said: “I’m very sorry for your loss.”
