Community Devastated After Two Bright Students Drown in Belmopan

Tonight, the University of Belize community is in mourning after a tragic drowning incident claimed the lives of two students on Thursday afternoon. The victims, twenty-two-year-old Henry Osorio and nineteen-year-old Alexander Munoz were both undergraduate biology majors. They were socializing with friends at the riverside in Guanacaste Park when their friends noticed that the pair hadn’t resurfaced from the water for over twenty minutes. This prompted them to alert the authorities. News Five’s Britney Gordon has the full report.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Today, the University of Belize’s flag flies at half-mast as students and faculty mourn the loss of Henry Osorio and Alexander Munoz. These promising biology majors were on track to graduate with their bachelor’s degrees, but their lives were tragically cut short in a drowning incident at Guanacaste Park. Staff reported that Osorio, Munoz, and two female friends arrived around two p.m., but sadly, they were found dead less than three hours later. Commissioner of Police Chester Williams has more on this unfortunate incident.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“Upon arrival there, met two females in a frantic state. Those females told the police that the two male counterparts had gone under the water and had not resurfaced. Based on not the police conducting some searches in the area and the two male individuals were found and taken from the water, but by then it was too late. They were already without life.  Based on that they were taken to the hospital and they were pronounced dead on arrival. The information we gathered so far is that the four of them were socialized, two male and two female, and one of the male person went into the water to take a swim and he began to drift away. And then the other one went to rescue him and he also drifted away. And then they would both submerge and did not resurface.”

 

The Guanacaste Park swimming area is a favorite spot for both tourists and locals, with an entry fee of just a dollar. Police reported that the group had been drinking alcohol, which is allowed in the area. Zoe Sutherland, a friend and classmate of Alex Munoz, fondly remembers the happy times they shared at the riverside.

Zoe Sutherland, Friend of Deceased

“We skipped chem and he’s like, let me show you the river. And this was like five  because we had a very late chem class. So we left and we stopped by the store. We got some snacks. And he showed me a river like by over there and we just sat and we just talked and we laughed and then he’s like, okay, let’s study chem. And I was like, what? And he’s like, yeah, you thought I took you out of chem? No. So he went over the whole topic and everything. And he’s like, I brought you here so I can teach you. And that’s one thing I will always miss is his enthusiasm and his okayness to do anything, especially for me. He always helped with anything. If I needed him there, he would be there. And he was the main reason that I passed chemistry in my second semester.”

 

Dr. Martin Cuellar, Dean of Student Affairs at the University of Belize, shared that the entire school is heartbroken by the news. To help students cope with their grief, the university organized a grief circle where they shared fond memories of Osario and Munoz and spoke with mental health professionals.

 

Dr. Martin Cuellar, Dean of Student Affairs, UB

“It’s always a tragedy when any family loses a member, especially a young, promising individual. And here we are at UB dealing with the terrible news that we have two of our students who have passed over the past twenty-four hours. As you can imagine, classmates are in tears, faculty members are breaking down. The university is in the full stages of grief. And then it is our job, obviously, as colleagues, as brothers and sisters of each other, to take care of each other as best we can. And so, we’re doing everything possible to try to take care of each other. We have a grief circle that is just wrapping up right now for close friends, classmates in particular, of Henry and Alex, and then we have a memorial scheduled or being organized for next week.”

 

Longtime friends of Henry Osorio attended the vigil, sharing that his death hits especially hard because they grew up with him. Yasmine Franco fondly remembers that there wasn’t a day when Henry wasn’t smiling or making someone else laugh.

 

 Yasmine Franco, Friend of Deceased

“One time we were playing an online game, right? And she had a really bad internet connection, right? And we were all on a voice call together. And the game in summary If someone dies on your team, everyone restarts. And so she kept dying, and we were all in voice chat, and we were just screaming at her. I was laughing so hard. We all were laughing so hard. He just kept out spitting jokes, and I was like, I was in tears from laughing. And now we’re in tears from mourning. So that, that hits different, because on that game, we can create profiles, and now I saw his profile online last night, and I’m like, how was he online last night? And so I thought, that felt eerie to have lost a friend that was, it’s eerie.”

 

Several classmates shared that both Osorio and Munoz were exceptionally bright and often competed for the top grades in their classes. In 2021, Alex Munoz, originally from Guinea Grass in Orange Walk, served as the Speaker of the House at the Children’s Parliament. Hector Maldonado, who was supposed to meet with them for a project that very night, admired their academic drive and dedication.

 

 

Hector Maldonado, Classmate

“I really loved their interactions in class. They were like very interactive with the lecturers. They knew what they were talking about. They were book smart, we could say. And I just felt that I had the pressure of getting to their level where they are because they really knew a lot. So yeah, they were very interactive and involved in class.”

 

The school is also extending individual counseling to those grieving and will continue to host intimate events in memory of Henry and Alex. Britney Gordon for News Five.