Sackville drowning: Manu Nehua remembered as great son, brother and footy player

A teenager who died after he was pulled from a popular swimming spot while unresponsive has been remembered as a “great son, brother and footy player”.

Manu Nehua died 24 hours after he was pulled out of the Hawkesbury River. Picture: Facebook

Friends and family are mourning a 16-year-old boy who died almost 24 hours after being pulled from the Hawkesbury River unresponsive on Monday.

Manu Nehua, 16, died in Westmead Hospital on Tuesday surrounded by his family after the tragic accident at Sackville Ski Gardens.

Witnesses told Channel 9 News Manu had dived off a pier into the water, surfaced briefly, then sunk again.

He was pulled from the water at about 12.20pm on Monday where Sackville Ski Gardens park manager Shane Earl and other witnesses performed CPR until paramedics arrived.

He was flown to hospital in a critical condition but died the next day.

Young Manu Nehua is being remembered as a “great son, brother and football player”. Picture: Facebook

In a statement shared by the Sackville Ski Gardens, Manu’s family thanked everyone who helped and worked on him.

“We are forever grateful, and for now we just need to grieve,” the statement said.

Tributes flooded in from friends in the hours after Manu’s passing, who said he would be “forever missed”.

“I love and miss you so much Manu, life without you is gonna (sic) be so hard,” Manu’s cousin Latesha Niazi wrote.

“Thankyou for always being there for me when I needed you and making me smile even at my lowest.

Manu Nehua. Picture: Facebook

Friends and family have said they will never forget 16-year-old Manu Nehua. Picture: Facebook.

“You will forever be in my heart – not a day will go past with me not thinking about you.”

Friend Tyler Guilfoyle wrote that Manu would be “missed by many”.

“(You’re) taken too soon, I won’t ever forget the memories,” he said. “Miss you bro.”

Tabitha McKenzie, another friend of Manu’s, said her heart “dropped” when she heard the news.

“When I heard you passed, my heart dropped and that sickening feeling came,” she said.

“You didn’t deserve this, I’m forever going to miss you.”

The Merrylands Rams, who Manu had played rugby league for, also paid tribute on social media, mourning the loss of a “great son, brother and a football player”.