17 year old girl dies while trying to save a 14-year-old boy

On Wednesday, August 13th, 17-year-old Stella Kambi (left) died while trying to drag 14-year-old Bonheur Musungay from a flooded pit at Thorpe Marshes on the outskirts of Norfolk, UK. Stella’s effort was a waste as Bonheur also died. Stella’s sister Claudine, 16, who was part of the attempted rescue, luckily survived.

Stella’s parents, who arrived in the UK as refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2008, are completely devastated at the loss of their daughter.

“We will miss her so much and hope our faith will get us through. But we are very proud of her”

Engele and Daniel Aketo also revealed their daughter had successfully rescued another boy a year ago. They said Stella and Claudine had not been swimming but sunbathing on the beach next to the boy. When Bonheur got into trouble, both girls, who were strong swimmers, dived in to save him. Claudine survived but Stella was dragged under.

Stella attended City College Norwich after leaving Thorpe St Andrew High School and was studying nursing at college and wanted to be a pediatrician.

Emergency services launched a major search and rescue operation to find the pair but were unable to save them. Police and firefighters are now investigating what happened.

Detective Sergeant Sarah Knights said people should take care around open water. “Without wanting to prejudge what has happened here, I would urge people to take the utmost care around water and to be aware of hidden dangers such as fast flowing currents and underwater obstacles and weeds,” she added.