Today, an emotional service took place at Elim Christian College to remember Floyd Fernandes, who died in this weeks canyoning tragedy on the North Island of New Zealand.
Floyd is the first of seven people to be laid to rest after the tragedy, where six students and one teacher from Howick's Elim Christian College died after severe rainfall swept 12 people down stream.
Floyd's father, Francisco, spoke of his loss and memories. He described losing his son as like losing a companion and a friend. His sister spoke of his musical skills. And his mother said that when they visited Floyd in the mortuary, she heard the voice of God say "I want to teach you to give your first and best fruit."
The remaining funerals will be held during the next week. According to the college's principal, who spoke on Breakfast during the week, there will be a memorial service at TelstraClear Pacifica in a few weeks, presumably after the school term starts back.
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This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
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