PUPILS and staff at an Edinburgh school were offered counselling yesterday in the aftermath of the drowning of a 13-year-old boy at a local park.
The City of Edinburgh Council, meanwhile, launched a full investigation into the tragedy which claimed the life of the teenager, named yesterday as Arron Duffus.
A report into the accident is to be submitted to the procurator fiscal by police and it is likely a fatal accident inquiry will take place.
The teenager, an only child, was cared for by his mother but the family was too upset yesterday to talk about the tragedy at home in Cleekim Road, Niddrie.
The second-year pupil at Holy Rood High School had been playing on a makeshift raft at Lochend Loch on Thursday night when he plunged into the icy water. His body was recovered by a team of police divers three hours later.
Eleven children were also taken to hospital and treated for mild hypothermia and shock.
Police and safety experts yesterday appealed to parents to warn their youngsters of the dangers of playing in water and to keep them away from the Lochend Park pond.
A police spokesman said: ''This particular pond can be treacherous and holds real dangers for anyone who ends up in the water either by accident or intention.''
Floral tributes from distressed youngsters and local parents were placed around the loch , as workmen repaired a break in the fence, made to assist police divers in the search for the boy.
Many youngsters who visited the park yesterday said they would not be returning.
Jamie Jackson, 12, a pupil at Leith Academy, was one of the last people to see Arron alive.
''We were on the swings and I saw his head going under. We were trying to get into the water to help him. We were all running about, shouting, and trying to get in,'' he said. The youngster was one of 11 taken to hospital afterwards.
Graeme Ross, 12, said: ''I'll never come back down here again. They should close down the park and they should drain the pond and get it all cleaned out.''
A local mother who visited the park today claimed the raft on which Arron had been playing had been built by local children several weeks ago.
Mother-of-three, Mrs Sandra Fulton said her son, Mark, 9, had played on the raft, built from wood and polystyrene, and she had warned him of the dangers.
She questioned how much more could be done to improve safety at the loch, which is ringed by a four-foot fence.
Council vice-convener Margaret McGregor said the council had been ''completely devastated'' by the accident.
Speaking on a visit to the park, Mrs McGregor said: ''The park is regularly checked twice a day by park patrols.''
She said she was satisfied the council had done all it could to maintain safety at the park.
Parks manager Jim McKay said: ''If children are found playing by the pond or swimming in it, they are told to leave. Any material which could potentially be used for making rafts is removed by the patrols.''
The loch has long been a landmark in the area and is unlikely to be filled in. A council spokesman said attempts were made a number of years ago to fill in the loch but an underground spring which feeds the pond had made it impossible.
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