The village of Gadime was shaken yesterday by the tragic death of a 10-year-old boy.
After finishing five hours of school, the boy set off for home, but took a different route than usual. He had never before used the road near the river, but yesterday things unfolded differently.
He never returned home from school, prompting family members and the entire village to mobilize in a search for him.
Driton Shabiu, a relative of the Zejnullahu family, said that based on footage obtained from surveillance cameras, the boy was seen passing near the river close to his home.
He said the entire village, along with search-and-rescue teams, was mobilized in the effort to find him.
“Zejna always used the road over there, but yesterday he refused both a friend and a cousin who offered him a ride in a car and decided to come this way, as you can see near the river, where we believe he slipped and was carried by the water to Lower Gadime. At that moment he was found after posts were shared on Facebook. All citizens came out, mobilized, and he was found by members of the Ashkali community. Based on the cameras we reviewed, Zejna left the road and chose to come home along the river. We do not suspect anyone, and the family also says they do not suspect that anyone pushed him or anything like that — it was an unfortunate accident,” he said.
Shabiu said that together with another teacher, he provided first aid until emergency services arrived.
“We will remember Zejn as a kind, well-mannered, exemplary student. It is a great pain for us, but God has written it this way, that he passed away tragically. We pray this will be the last case of its kind, something that had never happened before here,” he said.
“After 20 minutes of searching, following the family and village alert, the body of the 10-year-old, Zejn Zejnullahu, was found by a fellow villager, Petrit Dançi, who says that initially the boy still had a pulse. The river current carried him to this point, far from the Zejnullahu family home.”
Petrit Dançi from Lower Gadime described how he spotted the child’s body and pulled him from the river.
He said he had been notified through the school group chat that Zejn Zejnullahu was missing, prompting him to join the search.
“As I was coming, I said let me take a look at the river. There was light and everything was visible, but the river was high. I risked my life — I thought I might lose my own life just to save the child, because I felt for him like he was my own. My condolences to the family. At that moment I shouted, though I didn’t have much strength. My cries brought out the entire neighborhood. God gave me strength, I ran into a market and shouted that the child who had gone missing three and a half hours earlier was being carried underwater by the current. People helped me — I was alone at first. I went about five meters ahead of the boy, waited for him to come closer, and grabbed him. If my friends hadn’t been there, I would have been swept away with him. We pulled the boy out onto the asphalt, passersby tried to help him, and at that moment I lost consciousness,” he recounted.
The 10-year-old attended “Zenel Hajdini” primary school in the village of Gadime.
The school’s principal, Skender Ademi, spoke with deep emotion about the tragic event.
“This incident has deeply affected all of us. It was unpredictable. The student attended classes normally throughout the day and then headed home in the afternoon. Usually he took the road near the mosque, but yesterday he took a dangerous and problematic route, and something happened that neither the family nor anyone else expected. Zejna was an exemplary student, an exceptionally good student with all the qualities a student should have. We are emotionally affected as a school, as students, and as teachers,” he said.
The Director of Education in Lipjan, Rasim Hasani, expressed condolences to the Zejnullahu family, calling the incident a great tragedy.
“A serious and tragic case for us, painful for the community, especially for the family. May God give the family patience,” he said.
The Zejnullahu family has opened its doors for condolences. According to family members, the child’s father is currently in England and has not yet arrived in Kosovo.
According to the police report, Zejn’s lifeless body has been sent for an autopsy to the Institute of Forensic Medicine. The Regional Police Directorate in Pristina has launched an investigation into his death.
