Africa-Press – South-Africa. Tragedy struck Mount Moreland in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday when the bodies of two boys, Andile Ngema and Sibongokuhle Msami, were recovered from the Umdloti River.
The boys, aged 11 and 12, were fishing with their friends on Thursday afternoon when they decided to take a swim. But they got into difficulty and disappeared underwater.
Efforts to find them on the same day were hindered by poor lighting, so the search was called off until the next day, according to Reaction Unit SA (RUSA) spokesperson Prem Balram.
The rescue efforts included IPSS Medical Rescue, the Umhlali K9 Search and Rescue Unit, and Metro Police divers, Balram said.
He added that the RUSA R44 helicopter was deployed to clear the area of water hyacinth.
Police, a specialised dog and divers equipped with oxygen tanks worked together to search the river.
The search party discovered the bodies of both children just metres away from each other.
Ngema was in Grade 5, and Msami was a Grade 6 pupil at Waterloo Primary School in Waterloo, Verulam, Balram said.
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