Africa-Press – South-Africa. DURBAN — KwaZulu-Natal Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Sipho Hlomuka has once again urged communities to be extremely cautious when crossing large bodies of water.
The warning comes after two boys and a man died in the Jozini area this week.
The young boys, aged 8 and 9, drowned while swimming in a local river in Othobothini, while the 30-year-old man drowned while attempting to cross a river.
According to Hlomuka, both incidents are still being investigated by the police.
“We are concerned with the reports that we have received and want to appeal to all residents to continue to be vigilant. Large bodies of water are very dangerous and one must not attempt to cross a river since the strength of the current could be very strong,” he said.
In a separate incident, a 5-year-old girl drowned after she was swept downstream in Glendale on the KZN north coast.
IPSS Medical Rescue spokesperson Paul Herbst said rescue teams were called out to the Glendale area after the girl was swept downstream in the Umvoti River.
Herbst said the child was playing alongside the river when she lost her footing falling into the river and being swept away.
“IPSS Medical Rescue, together with SAPS Police Divers, SAPS K9 SAR and NSRI, searched the river using a drone and inflatable rafts. Her body was located and recovered approximately 3km downstream of where she entered the water,” he said.
Herbst also warned people to exercise heightened caution around bodies of water and flowing water.
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