A 16-year-old boy, Jean Paul Xerri, of Zabbar, drowned yesterday when he was snorkelling in the Xaghjra area, the police said.

They were informed that someone was in difficulty at sea at around 10 a.m. From investigations, it resulted that the boy went snorkelling at about 7.45 a.m. When his mother and girlfriend saw that, at one point, his buoy was not moving and that he had not surfaced, they suspected something had happened to him and called the police.

Three people jumped into the sea to search for the boy, who was found between 100 and 200 metres offshore at a depth of about 14 metres, police sources said.

The lifeless body was lifted onto a boat and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation attempted on land. But it was too late and the boy was certified dead, the sources said.

A harpoon with one fish stuck in it and another three on a hook were found next to the boy.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera held an on-site inquiry, appointing various experts to assist her in the case.