Boy who filled lives with 'love, laughter, joy' mourned after drowning at Manitoba campground

The parents of a three-year-old Winnipeg boy who died in a tragic accident at a Manitoba provincial park last weekend say their lives have turned into a nightmare.

"Our world was turned upside down and our idyllic life became a nightmare," Tarek and Mais Habash said in a statement posted to Facebook on Tuesday.

Their son, Zane Habash, died on May 12 in a drowning at Nopiming Provincial Park, northeast of Winnipeg.

"Zane was the light of our lives and along with his older sister filled our lives with love, laughter and joy. We are heartbroken for his loss. We miss him tremendously."

The family has asked for privacy as they grieve, said the statement on the Manitoba Islamic Association's Facebook page.

Lac du Bonnet RCMP said the boy was playing with a group of kids last Saturday morning when he wandered off at Tulabi Falls Campground in Nopiming Provincial Park, 154 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg on the Manitoba/Ontario border.

His family quickly realized he was missing and a search found the boy in a nearby body of water, said RCMP.

Emergency responders were called at about 11:30 a.m. and family members provided medical assistance until they arrived, but the boy was pronounced dead despite efforts to revive him.

Zane's funeral was held Tuesday at Winnipeg's Grand Mosque.