Fort Providence (Sep 26/03) - People in Fort Providence are praying that an eight-year-old boy found asphyxiated on a piece of playground equipment during lunch hour on Monday will survive.

The RCMP responded to a call for help at 12:18 p.m. Although he was unconscious, he did have a pulse, according to RCMP Const. Amber Powder.

The boy was alone on the school playground when the incident occurred, she said.

Powder said she thinks a mother looking for her daughter at the school was the first one to come across the boy hanging by the neck on a piece of playground equipment.

Powder couldn't describe what kind of playground equipment it was but said it didn't appear to be defective.

"Nobody actually saw how it happened," said Powder. "It was after the fact that he was discovered hanging."

A piece of rope was discovered at the scene. It was sent out to a lab by RCMP for further analysis.

"At this point there's no indication that suicide is an issue," she said. "How it (the rope) got there or what it was doing there we're not sure at this time."

The boy was medevaced to Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife and was subsequently transferred to the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, where he remains in serious condition.

Principal Jane Arychuk said the boy was not present at school Monday morning.

She said the playground is not supervised over the lunch hour because students are supposed to go home for lunch.

Social workers and counsellors from various centres descended on the community to help them cope with the shocking event. Deh Gah school was scheduled to be closed Tuesday for a professional development session for teachers, but in light of the misfortune, the school was kept open for those who needed support.

Arychuk noted that some students were taking the news hard, especially not knowing on Tuesday whether the boy would be all right.

"We're doing debriefing circles and then we're doing individual counselling as well," said Arychuk.