Parents tell of fearless, confident boy who lost his life in pontoon dive

Albert Borg manages a smile as he browses through the digital photos of his son James fooling around with his friends, pulling faces at the camera or posing with a look of teenage angst.

He lingers on the one where James, 14, looks directly at the camera, a hat pulled over his carefully styled fringe: "This was taken minutes before his fatal dive".

Just four days after tragically losing their son, Mr Borg and his wife Diane are appealing to youngsters to think twice before diving off pontoons they are not familiar with.

What happened to their son could have happened to anybody. James was with his clique of friends from San Ġwann at Għadira Bay on Tuesday night. They had booked a minivan at 8.30 p.m. and were looking forward to spending the night on the beach.

Always keen on his image, James had asked his mother to replace his sandals and that day he was anxiously awaiting her return so he could sport his new ones on the beach.

"He was thrilled I managed to get him the exact same pair to replace his old ones - he twirled me around and hugged me. He was a very appreciative boy," Mrs Borg said, her grey-green eyes glazing over with a film of tears. Always full of beans, he went to pounce on his father, who was taking a nap before his night shift distributing newspapers for Millers Distributors, before he left.

"He was a fearless, confident boy, always up for a challenge or adventure. Before he left I repeated the usual words of caution: 'Take care of yourself and don't try to impress'," Mr Borg said, unconsciously running his fingers over the brass cross that had been attached to his son's coffin.

Assuring his dad that he need not worry, James grabbed his bag and food container packed with coleslaw and potatoes, which his mother had prepared, and walked out the door to join his friends.

"At about 11.45 p.m. he called to say how much he had enjoyed the food and that he was having fun," Mrs Borg said, rubbing her swollen eyes.

Fifteen minutes later, her mobile rang again, signalling that James was calling. Instead, there was a girl at the other end of the line rambling on how James had gone for a swim, there had been an accident and he was foaming at the mouth.

Mrs Borg immediately called her husband, who dropped what he was doing, went to pick her up and dashed to Mater Dei Hospital.

"I immediately expected the worst. When the ambulance arrived, I sensed things were not right," Mr Borg added.

His friends told James's parents how they had not been planning to swim that night, but James felt hot and, taking off his T-shirt, he sprinted onto a nearby pontoon and dived into the sea.

At one point his friends saw his head bob up and go back down. Initially, they assumed he was joking, but when he didn't resurface, his friends jumped in and dragged him ashore.

Attempts to resuscitate him failed. His friends think James probably hit his head against the sand. An autopsy later confirmed that the boy had indeed hit his head, suffering a concussion and drowning.

"He was not familiar with the pontoon and I worry about other children experiencing a similar fate," his mother said.

The silence that has settled on the Borg family is disturbed when Luke, nine, excitedly calls his father to tell him he's chatting with James's friends online.

His father gets up and joins Luke in James's bedroom, which had not yet made the transition from boy to teenager. His duvet and curtains portray his hero, Action Man, while a collection of car models, presents from his father, line his shelves.

James was also a huge fan of Ronaldinho, and he was an eager football player with the San Ġwann Football Club; even though recently he was spending more time experimenting with different hairstyles.

"Recently, he told me he wanted to join Mcast to follow a hairdressing course," his father said, in a wistful voice as he went through the photos where the colour of his son's hair kept changing.

"If I had the courage to speak out during the funeral Mass my only words to young people would be: It's true you want to have fun and experiment in life, but listen to what your parents tell you - it's for your own good."

The family want to thank the Mater Dei Hospital staff, Miller Distributors, Media Link Communications, Union Press, the San Ġwann Football Club, and James's friends for all their help and solidarity.