Search continues for 9-year-old boy who fell in river in KZN

The search for a missing nine-year-old from Tugela Ferry, KwaZulu-Natal, is continuing. The boy is presumed to have drowned.

Emergency medical service company Medi Response said the search for the child in the river started on Tuesday and was still ongoing on Wednesday.

Medi Response spokesperson Paul Herbst said the boy and his friends were swimming in the river when the boy jumped off a rock and fell into the water. He never came back up.

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Herbst said their search and rescue division are working with the South African Police (Saps) dive team, and K9 search and rescue units.

“Despite deploying multiple resources across a vast area, no positive results were yielded and the search was suspended. The search shall resume tomorrow,” said Herbst on Tuesday.

Two boys drown at a dam in Limpopo

Three weeks ago, two boys drowned while swimming at the Seshego Dam with friends in Limpopo.

Limpopo police spokesperson, Malesela Ledwaba said: “The information at our disposal is that the boys were swimming and crossing the dam using white foam props as flotation devices, an occurrence which is said to be practised in the area.”

Ledwaba said the boys were using a makeshift foam board to float when it capsized into the water.

The bodies of the boys, Kotsema Ramaru, 9, and Kubu Mashilo, 12, were retrieved on two separate days by diving teams.

“Parents are advised to ensure that their children do not engage in swimming activities unsupervised. They must be wary of this dam as several drowning incidents were reported in the area in the past,” said Ledwaba.

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