Tributes pour as 13-year-old’s coffin carried by school friends at funeral

Aryan Ghoniya, 13, was found dead a few days after he disappeared in the River Taff in Whitchurch, Cardiff. Despite the rain, Aryan’s family, friends and local community gathered on the day of his funeral at the Thornhill Cemetery and Crematorium.
A silver hearse, often used for the funerals of young people instead of traditional black hearses, passed the two schools Aryan had attended, before arriving at the service.
A few of Aryan’s friends, dressed up in black and white suits, carried their friend’s coffin. It was indeed heart-breaking to see a group of young friends carrying their 13-year-old mate’s coffin at his funeral.
An obituary page was set up for the boy, previously dubbed a ‘little professor’ for his academic excellence, and multiple people have since left touching words.
Tributes have also been left at Windsor Gardens in Radyr. Aryan’s mum Hina, dad Jitendra and 8-year-old sister Naviya were among the relatives who went to visit the park. The gardens flew the Welsh Indian flags at half-mast – in a nod to Aryan’s heritage – and used one of the trees as a focus for tributes.
The family in a statement, published by the South Wales Police said, "The family is devastated by the tragic loss of Aryan Ghoniya, beloved son of Jitendra and Hina and caring brother to Naviya. We are extremely grateful to all the emergency services for their efforts in the search for Aryan. We are also grateful to the police for their ongoing support. Aryan was born in Wales, he was proud to be Welsh and we are proud to have been a member of his family.
"We are touched by the support received from the community, Danescourt Primary School and Radyr Comprehensive School, both of which he loved. Our thanks also to the A&E staff at Heath hospital.
"Aryan was our 'Little Professor', brilliant at Maths, an all-rounder academically. He was very charming and caring boy with warm personality and was loved by all who knew him.
"There will never be a day when we will not miss him, and he will remain in our hearts forever.
"We strongly urge all parents to explain to their children the danger of playing in rivers. We do not wish any parents to go through the tragedy we are going through.
“We also appreciate the setting of Windsor Gardens in Radyr to be a quiet place where his friends can go, leave a message or a tribute and remember the fun and happy times they shared with Aryan.
“Thank you to Councillor Helen Lloyd Jones for enabling this. This is an impossibly difficult period for us but the gestures of kindnesses, the Indian and the Welsh flags flying at half-mast give us some comfort.
“Aryan was born in Wales, he was proud to be Welsh and we are proud to have been a member of his family. Thank you all for your support.”
Hina’s cousin Vimla Patel on behalf of the bereaved parents in a statement told Asian Voice, “To all of Aryan’s friends, we thank you for being part of his short life, do not despair, do not blame anyone, his time here was short, cherish the memories you have of him, inspire yourself to become the person you want to be in life and make your family proud, as this is what Aryan would have wanted you to do.
“The speeches from Aryan’s primary school headmistress Mrs Judith Davies and Mr Williams of Radyr Comprehensive were truly inspiring of Aryan, and we wish to thank you very much for this, and hope that your dedication inspiring children to become who they want to be in the future, and any support they need during this difficult time carries on.
“Aryan’s parents Jitu and Hina, would have very much wanted to thank those who attended Aryan’s farewell service personally, but due to a medical episode, the service was cut short, and this was not possible, but we as family thank you all personally for being with us in saying goodbye to Aryan.
“We witnessed your emotions, we witnessed your tears, we witnessed your sorrow, we witnessed your love, we witnessed your support, we undisputedly witnessed that we were not alone, and wish to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.”
At 4.45pm on Tuesday 21 June a report was received of children in the River Taff near Forest Farm Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff and one boy was missing.
An extensive search was carried out by police, fire, ambulance, coast guard and the police helicopter.
Aryan, was located in the river at around 5.45pm and, despite the efforts of the emergency services, he was unable to be resuscitated.
HM Coroner was informed and an investigation into the circumstances of the incident is ongoing.