A TWO-YEAR-OLD boy who died after he choked on a piece of fruit earlier this week is being laid to rest in Skibbereen, Co Cork, this afternoon.

Joshua Odonkor, of Ard Carrig in Skibbereen, is survived by his parents Philomena and Moses and his brother Emmanuel.

He will lie in repose at Hurley and O’Sullivan’s funeral home in the town today from 2pm for family and close friends. Following prayers he will be buried in St Patrick’s cemetery in Coronea, Skibbereen.

Joshua passed away on Wednesday evening at his home in Ardcarrig after he choked on a grape. Emergency services rushed to the housing estate shortly after 9pm when the alarm was raised by his family.

A postmortem followed at Cork University Hospital and an inquest will be held in due course. Gardaí have confirmed that the incident is being treated as a “tragic accident.”

Former Mayor of Skibbereen, Cllr Karen Coakley, has said that locals are “heartbroken” for the Ghanaian family who only moved to the area recently. Every effort will be made to support the family emotionally and practically in the coming months.

Meanwhile, a toddler from Co Wicklow also died in a similar tragedy earlier this month after she experienced difficulty whilst eating food when she was at a creche. She was rushed by ambulance to Dublin where she passed away.

In a statement, gardaí said that they were made aware of an incident that result in the sudden death of a female toddler at Children’s Hospital Ireland in Crumlin in Dublin on 19 January.

“A postmortem has been held and a file will be forwarded to the Dublin City Coroner in due course.”

Gardaí are currently treating the death as a tragic accident and foul play is not suspected.