Dog disappears into deep uncovered manhole during Bryanston parkrun

A Bryanston dog owner has been left grief-stricken after her dog fell into a manhole while on a walk along the Braamfontein Spruit, reports Sandton Chronicle.

Cheryl Nurock was participating in the Bryanston Parkrun with her two dogs like she has many times before. However, this time, on April 20, Nurock left devastated when her Jack Russell, Buddy, fell into a manhole than had been left uncovered.

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Nurock had briefly let Buddy off his leash at the end of the Park Run when he fell into the manhole. Other runners rushed to assist Nurock, and the Sandton SPCA visited the site to see if there was anything that could be done to find Buddy.

Buddy’s family are devastated by his loss. Photo: Supplied

Rose Bishop, one of the witnesses, said, “As it was a deep sewerage line, he disappeared, never to be seen again. The poor owner, Cheryl Nurock, and other park runners and walkers were traumatised.”

Nurock said that she has done over 40 Bryanston Park Runs, and has on many occasions seen the manhole without its cover. She said that on the day, they had urgently tried to get in contact with Joburg Water to get them to assist, however, they could not get a reference number to follow up.

After many hours, the search for Buddy was called off when it was determined that the water was both deep and flowing rapidly, and it was unlikely that Buddy had survived.

While Nurock is left devastated by the tragedy, she added that it could have been a child who had fallen into the manhole.

Following the incident, residents put up a sign near the manhole and covered it with a piece of wood to try and prevent any future accidents.

Residents put up a sign warning other dog walkers of the manhole. Photo: Supplied

An additional challenge faced by the residents is that reporting the open manhole is challenging, as it is located on the Spruit and difficult to describe exactly where it is located.

Vincent Earp, Ward 103 councillor said, “We just can’t afford to have this manhole covers open, it is very worrying.”

He added that it is important for residents to report manholes without covers whenever they notice them, as Joburg Water might not be aware of them.

Isaac Dhludhlu, Joburg Water’s manager of communications and marketing said, “Our thoughts are with the owner of the dog, and we appeal to all residents to report all open manholes by logging calls so that we can avoid such incidents in the future.”

Dhludhlu added that a team had been sent to see if Buddy could be recovered, however, they were unsuccessful. The manhole has since been covered.

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