The mother of a 12-month-old boy who died when he was thrown off a bridge into a river in his Moses basket has told of her heartbreak and said: ‘I lost my baby today.’
Emma Blood, 22, has posted an emotional statement on Facebook this morning after her son Zakari plunged to his death into the River Irwell, in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester.
The grieving mother, who describes her son as ‘my world, my heart, my soul’ on her social media profile, wrote ‘ I wish I was dead’ and said he sat with him ‘for hours’, not knowing he had died until she arrived at hospital that evening.
The baby’s father, named locally as Zak Bennett-Eko, 22, was arrested by police as he sat with customers in the nearby Lock Keeper pub. It is believed he had taken his son out to buy milk.
He wandered into the pub moments after the boy fell into the water and ordered a drink, and sat there and ‘stared’ according to witnesses. He is in custody and is being quizzed by police.
Paramedics battled to save the boy after he was pulled from the water by firefighters, some 100 yards from the bridge. He was taken to hospital but pronounced dead a short time later.
Ms Blood wrote today: ‘I lost my baby today. I love my little boy and did everything for him.
‘I didn’t know my child was dead until I got to A&E. We sat with him for hours, we held him, we kissed him and then I left.
‘Let me grieve for my child, my whole world and so much more. I am alive, although I wish I was dead.’
