A Sag Harbor sixth grader died Wednesday after an inflatable raft capsized on the Lehigh River in the Poconos during a class outing that had been meant to be the annual trip for sixth graders. The student was 12-year-old Cesar Albarracin Guncay, who did not immediately resurface after the raft went over in East Penn Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania.

The raft capsized around 5:30 p.m. with five people aboard, sending all of them into the water. Four people were rescued. Cesar was found later and taken to a park, where he was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. Firefighters and coroner officials were called to a report of a drowning, and the death is being investigated by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

Sag Harbor Superintendent Jeff Nichols told parents Wednesday night that there were no words to adequately express the depth of the loss. He said Cesar was a cherished member of the school family and that the student’s absence would leave an irreplaceable space in classrooms, hallways and lives. Nichols also said the district’s deepest sympathies and condolences were with Cesar’s family and friends and that they would be kept in thoughts and prayers.

The rafting outing was the annual class trip for Sag Harbor sixth graders, and a district spokeswoman said it was the third year the class had made the trip to the Poconos. There were 74 students on the chaperoned trip. Students had planned to stay overnight but left early and arrived back at the school at 2 a.m. Thursday. Counselors were made available for students and staff after the death.

The tragedy now turns on what the investigation finds about a ride that had life jackets in use and still ended in a fatal drowning. Mike Parker said the commission will review all safety equipment as part of any recreational boating fatality investigation, a step that should show whether this was a freak loss or a preventable one. For Sag Harbor, the answer already sits with Cesar Albarracin Guncay, a 12-year-old Pierson Middle/High School student whose classmates returned home before dawn carrying news no school trip was ever meant to bring back.