Freak accident: How holidaymakers battled to save Cairo Winitana who died at Fiji resort

Two men holidaying in Fiji have described the moment they found Sydney boy Cairo Winitana in a resort garden bed after he died in a suspected freak electrocution.

Two men holidaying in Fiji have described the moment they found Sydney boy Cairo Winitana unconscious in a resort garden bed after he was electrocuted in a freak accident.

Cairo, eight, from Sydney’s south west died while on vacation on the South Pacific island with his family.

The little boy was believed to have been chasing frogs when the accident happened.

“He must have just seen a frog near the bolt screwed into the ground where the live current was coming from, and he must have fell,” said Thomas Meier.

Mr Meier, his uncle Juan Rodas and cousin Jeremy Rodas were holidaying at the Club Wyndham Denarau Island resort and walking back from the pool bar when they saw the little boy lying with his “arms by his sides”.

“As we were walking through the gardens we just saw this boy face down in the garden,” Mr Meier said.

“My uncle went up to him and we were trying to tap him on the shoulder to see if he was responsive and he wasn’t moving.”

The 24 year-old said he could see a “big black mark” on the boy’s leg.

Cairo Winitana died in a freak accident in Fiji.

The Club Wyndham Denarau Island resort in Fiji.

“He had this massive hole in his leg which was from an electric current that was coming through one of the lampposts over in the ground.

“My uncle grabbed him and pulled him out onto the footpath and as he was doing that my uncle started getting (a shock).

“He kind of froze up.”

Mr Meier said bystanders, including a nurse, then started chest compressions on the boy while his uncle performed CPR and he and his cousin held lights to assist them in the darkness.

“Medical staff then came with a defibrillator and people were saying go find the mother,” he said.

“Eventually the mum turned up and she was screaming, crying, calling out to her son Cairo.

“She had one of her relatives hugging her.

“By then there were about 15 people surrounding this little boy trying to help out.

“We were all just sitting around hoping this little boy is going to wake up after a couple of shots of this defibrillator.”

Mr Meier said emergency services arrived about 40 minutes after the boy was found and said they were “pretty hopeless.”

“They just stood there shocked…I think they were a bit stunned as well.”

Devastated.... Cairo’s mother, Amber De Theirry.

Cairo’s mum’s heartbreaking social media post. Source: Facebook

Mr Rodas said he had called out to the boy but he never replied..

“I started calling out what‘s up? What’s wrong? What’s wrong? He didn’t respond,” Mr Rodas said.

“I picked him up and felt a shock go through my hand and I knew there was electricity somewhere.

“Something was burnt, there was a black mark on his leg.

Mr Rodas described delivering resuscitation to the boy while the nurse “massaged the boy’s heart.”

“We were calling out for an ambulance.

“Time just stood still.”

Mr Rodas said Cairo’s mother Amber De Thierry was “unbelievable” and “an amazing lady”.

“She was so good because in that circumstance a lot of people would have tried to grab him, I know if it was my little boy I would have been in hysterics.

“You could hear her emotion though, she was just frantic.Calling out to him to come back.You could feel her pain.”

She later shared a heartbreaking post on Facebook in memory of her son.

“I loved you my son, from the moment I found out I was carrying you and will love you forever more my beautiful blue eyes,” she said.

A Fiji police spokesman said: “Initial information gathered is that the child was allegedly electrocuted however the post-mortem will have to confirm that,.”

NZ authorities said: “We are aware of the death of a child in Denarau and are providing assistance to the family, an MFAT spokesperson said.

A GoFund Me page has been set up

to bring little Cairo home.

Cairo was believed to have been chasing frogs when the accident happened.

Relatives of the young boy have started a GoFund Me page to raise funds for travel expenses associated with bringing Cairo home, funeral services and assistance for the Waitana family.

“Our beautiful little boy Cairo, only 8 years old, Loving Son of Amber and Clarke, passed away in a tragic accident while on holidays in Fiji,” Cairo’s relative Glenys Wana wrote on the page.

“They now have the heartbreaking job of bringing their son home from Fiji and laying him to rest at home in Australia.

“As you could all imagine this is a very devastating loss for our family.”

“If anyone can help lighten the financial stress for this family and get Cairo home it would appreciated so much.”

Other family members shared devastating messages on social media, remembering the beloved boy.

“Our hearts are breaking for Jacks niece & nephew Amber De Thierry and Clarke Winitana with the tragic loss of their wee man Cairo while in Fiji on holiday,” Jill De Thierry said on Facebook.

“Something no parent should ever have to go through,” Huana Anderson-Kleskovic said.

“Help get our nef back home to Sydney from Fiji.”

Milperra Colts Junior Rugby League football club also issued a tribute to Cairo, a member since 2021, following the news of his death.

“The Milperra Colts Family are deeply saddened at the news of the passing of Cairo Winitana who has been a member of the Colts Family since 2021,” the club said in a statement on Facebook.

“Our sincere condolences go out to the Winitana family and many friends. He was a shy, tough little kid who loved his footy.”

Originally published as Freak accident: How holidaymakers battled to save Cairo Winitana who died at Fiji resort