Viewings for teens who drowned while swimming in Jamaica Bay, Queens
HOWARD BEACH, Queens (WABC) -- Family and friends will gather Tuesday evening for separate wakes honoring the lives of two teenage boys who drowned at Howard Beach.
Daniel Persaud and Ryan Junior Wong, both 13, drowned while swimming in Jamaica Bay Friday morning..
The wake for Daniel will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. tonight at Bergen Funeral Service, 11430 Rockaway Boulevard, Queens. His funeral will held 11 a.m. Wednesday.
The wake for Ryan will be held from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. tonight at Leo F. Kearns, Inc. Funeral Home, 103-33 Lefferts Boulevard, South Richmond Hill, Queens.
Ryan's funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Both boys skipped school Friday morning to spend a day at the beach, a day that ended in tragedy.
New York City's Department of Education says two robocalls were sent to the boys' parents, one at 10:30 a.m. and another at 7 p.m.
Daniel's parents say they didn't get the first one, which would have been placed about an hour before the drowning.
At a vigil for both boys Monday night, balloons were released and candles lit as Daniel's family spoke out.
"Daniel was a very, very good boy," said his mother, Samantha Singh. "He's leaving us to tell a tale to kids and parents, to keep attached to your kids and to know what they're doing."
"Daniel would really be laughing and smiling right now seeing all of you here," said the boy's sister. "It's really nice to know Daniel is loved by so many people. We just want Daniel to know we love him, we miss him, and it won't get easy, but it'll get better eventually."
There was another drowning in our area on Monday, this one in Belmar, New Jersey. The victim was a man in his 20s.
It was the eighth drowning in the Tri-State area in just the last week.
That includes two teen brothers who drowned in a Bayonne pool.
Lifeguards have only been working weekends at Howard Beach.
Full-time weekday lifeguards are only going to begin patrolling that beach starting this Friday.
Officials remind everyone that if you cannot swim, you should never get in the water when a lifeguard is not present.
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