Grieving mother’s heartache as son dies in Fiji resort
Cairo Winitana was found unresponsive at a hotel and taken to Nadi Hospital but did not survive. Photo: GoFundMe
The grieving mother of an eight-year-old Sydney boy who died on a family holiday at a popular Fiji resort has spoken out.
Cairo Winitana died on a family holiday at Club Wyndham, on Fiji’s main island, on Thursday in an incident that is under investigation by local authorities.
Cairo, a New Zealand citizen who lived in Sydney, was found motionless near a garden at the resort last Thursday. He was taken to hospital, where a staff nurse pronounced him dead.
Fijian police said the boy may have been electrocuted, although his official cause of death is yet to be confirmed.
On Tuesday, his mother, Amber De Thierry, shared a heartfelt tribute to her son on Facebook after the sudden death.
“I loved you my son from the moment I found out I was carrying you and will love you forever more my beautiful beautiful blue eyes,” she wrote on Monday.
Family friend Glenys Wana also paid tribute to the youngster.
She has started a GoFundMe to help Cairo’s family pay for the return of his body and for his funeral. It had reached its goal of $20,000 by early Tuesday afternoon (AEDT).
“Our beautiful little boy Cairo, only eight years old, loving son of Amber and Clarke, passed away in a tragic accident whilst on holidays in Fiji,” she wrote.
“They now have the heart breaking job of bringing their son home from Fiji and laying him to rest at home in Australia.
“We want to be able to help take a load off them both while they grieve the loss of their son.”
South-west Sydney junior rugby league club the Milperra Colts also paid tribute to Cairo on Facebook, posting that he had been a member since 2021 and would be remembered as a “shy, tough little kid who loved his footy”.
Fijian police said an autopsy would be performed.
“On the 9th of February, a staff nurse from the Nadi Hospital rang and reported the death of an 8-year-old child at the Nadi Hospital,” a Fijian police spokeswoman said.
“The child was found motionless near a flower garden at a hotel. Initial information gathered is that the child was allegedly electrocuted. However, the post mortem will have to confirm that.”
A spokesperson at Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific described the incident as “a tragic accident” and said an investigation was ongoing.
“We have expressed our heartfelt condolences to the family and our thoughts remain with them at this time,” the spokesperson said.
“Our management team is currently conducting a thorough investigation into the incident and co-operating with the police and authorities. We are unable to comment further at this time.”
The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was aware of the incident and was assisting the family.
