NGODWANA – Two bodies were retrieved from the Elands River after a man (57) and a woman (60) had been reported missing in two seperate incidents. Both were last seen on Saturday.
Mr Abel Makhonza (57) left home to visit his uncle on Saturday between 07:00 and 08:00, according to his niece, Ms Ria Hlatshwayo. He never returned.
Family members started looking for Makhonza when he failed to show after the weekend. Saturday heavy rain increasead the level of the river considerably. According to residents of the village the water was hip-height and the current was quite strong when some community members tried to cross a shallow-water bridge on Saturday.
Makhonza was apparently swept away. He drowned and his body was discovered in the river by the SAPS diving squad and members of the Off Road Rescue Unit today.
Captains Pottie and Joey Potgieter and WO Carl van Niekerk were assisted by Messrs Anthony Lombaard, Renier Pelser, Kobus Els and the K9 unit’s WO Danie Theron and Const Theo Lombard. The body was transferred to the riverbank with the aid of an SAPS chopper piloted by Capt Lindsey Pretorius.
Another body retrieval followed shortly after when Capt Pretorius and Const Cas Swanepoel, the aircraft engineer on the flight with Pretorius, spotted a body on the banks of the river.
It was that of Ms Jennetha Nkosi (60), who never returned from visiting her friends on a nearby farm on Saturday afternoon. Her cousin, Mr Sizwe Nkosi, was also away for the weekend and became suspicious when he did not find his aunt at home upon his returnon Sunday. When there was still no sign of her on Monday, a few community members started searching for her and she was reported missing when her shoes were found on the riverbank.
Shortly after her body was spotted by the SAPS helicopter, Capt Pieter Smit of Ngodwana SAPS confirmed that a missing person had been reported and he also attended to the scene where the body was recovered.
