The second of two teenage cousins who jumped into the Bronx River Friday afternoon and were pulled out by rescuers has died, hospital officials said Sunday.
Wellington Gabin, 13, had been on life support in critical condition at Montefiore Medical Center since the rescue. His cousin, Erickson Villa, also 13, died Friday.
Wellington was pulled from the water near East 172nd Street after 3 p.m. and Erickson was found about an hour later.
Witnesses said the teens were part of a larger group of children at Starlight Park who decided to go into the water.
Wellington's family members say he didn't know how to swim and that Erickson jumped in to save him.
"When he jump, he thought he can swim," said Kennedy Pacheco, Wellington's cousin. "He never swim before. He don't know how to swim. So he was already deep in the water."
The two struggled to stay afloat, and their friends called 911.
Richard Ferrano said he was playing baseball nearby when the victims' friends ran to him.
"They were saying their friends jumped in the water, two kids, and they were drowning," he said. "So we came over here -- at first there was nothing -- and they called NYPD, and everyone started jumping in the water to look for the kids."
Fire officials said rescuers were able to pinpoint the area where the teens went under and quickly recovered the first victim.
