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Owen Shiptonand Ben Carr,East Midlands
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Panashe Muchenje, 19, was described as a "loving person" by his family
The family of a man who died after getting into difficulty in a lake in Nottinghamshire during recent hot weather have paid tribute to a "loving person".
Panashe Muchenje, 19, was with friends when he went into Balderton Lake, off Heron Way in New Balderton, near Newark, on 28 May.
Panashe, from Hucknall, was treated at the scene by paramedics and later taken to hospital but on 30 May, Nottinghamshire Police confirmed he had not survived.
His nephew, Maxwell Muchenje, 56, urged people to stop sharing videos of the incident online and to stop speculating about the circumstances of Panashe's death.
Panashe had been at Balderton Lake with friends on 28 May
Maxwell said: "He was a very energetic person, very loving.
"His church community loved him so much, he did a lot within the church and he was friendly. For us it was a tragic event.
"We recognise it was an accident, you know when young people play sometimes their sense of judgement is impaired either by excitement or by not understanding what is happening at that particular time."
After announcing his death, Nottinghamshire Police said there were not believed to be any suspicious circumstances and a file would be prepared for the coroner.
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Panashe was applying to join the RAF at the time of his death
Maxwell said Panashe, who had moved to the area from Zimbabwe about three years ago, was studying at Nottingham College and was in the process of applying to join the RAF.
His said speculation and videos of the incident being shared online were "adding insult to injury" for the family and were "difficult to take".
"I would ask that if someone [has] got these videos circulating, if they would kindly delete them and not share them," Maxwell said.
Maxwell Muchenje said Panashe's death was a "tragic accident" and asked for speculation online to stop
Maxwell said Panashe had "basic" swimming skills and one of his friends went into the water to try to help him.
"The peers did not realise that their colleague was in distress and the nature of the lake and depth of water made it difficult for them to save him.
"They are also experiencing the trauma that everybody is but to a greater extent because they were with him.
"They were not at fault, it was an accident."
Maxwell said a burial service for Panashe would take place next week.
He added that the family were "grateful for the support we are getting from the community, from the police, from the hospital and mostly from the church".
