So Many Unanswered Questions Following Drowning of Autistic Student

Gabriel Pablo Orellano drowned on Monday at the hangar area near the Belize City municipal airstrip. The six-year-old student of Stella Maris School reportedly snuck and found himself near the hangar area.

Authorities are searching for answers after the tragic drowning of six-year-old Gabriel Pablo Orellano, a student at Stella Maris School. How did he leave the school unnoticed? How did he make his way to the hangar near the Belize City municipal airstrip? And what happened in the moments before he entered the water?

Reports to News Five are that the child left the compound during lunchtime. We are also told that Belize City residents saw the boy walking through traffic on Freetown Road and reported it to his parents. The parents went to school to enquire about their son’s location. They were informed of his location after the boy had drowned. The family believes that the child was finding his way home in the Lake Independence Area.

Gabriel’s body was discovered after he failed to resurface. In response, Stella Maris School cancelled classes for the remainder of the day.

Yesterday afternoon, the Ministry of Education issued a statement expressing deep sorrow over the loss, pledging to support Gabriel’s family. However, many questions remain. The Ministry, alongside the Belize Police Department, is investigating the circumstances surrounding his disappearance and tragic death.

Minister of Education Francis Fonseca has expressed heartbreak over Gabriel’s death. In a statement, Fonseca described the loss as devastating and stressed the urgent need to protect the country’s most vulnerable children, particularly those with special needs. “A full and comprehensive investigation into this sad incident is being undertaken in collaboration with the Belize Police Department and the School. As a Ministry of Education and as a society we have no greater responsibility than to protect our most vulnerable people especially our children with special needs. The Ministry of Education is providing every support needed to the family and we ask all Belizeans to keep them and little Pablo in their thoughts and prayers.”