Breaking news – Four children suffocate in freezer
Four young children, 3 boys aged four, and a girl aged 6, suffocated to death on Tuesday after being trapped in a freezer stored in an outside building of a house in Klipbou.
12 November – 13:09
The names of the four children who suffocated in a deep freeze in Ermelo on Tuesday have been released.
The deceased are: Siphokazi Malaza, female (6); Gift Zulu male (7); Njabulo Success Sibiya, male (7) and Junior Terence Shoba male (4). At this stage it appears that the children were playing and climbed into the freezer when it shut closed, trapping them inside.
An official inquest into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy has been launched.
Ermelo, 12 November – 10:27
Four young children, 3 boys aged four, and a girl aged 6, suffocated to death on Tuesday after being trapped in a freezer stored in an outside building of a house in Klipbou.
Police spokesperson Captain Carla Prinsloo said first reports indicated that a relative of one of the children had cleaned the freezer earlier on Tuesday morning and left the door open for the unit to dry.
He apparently went to repair a motor vehicle on the premises and at approximately 5.30 he returned to close the freezer door. He noticed it was already closed and when he opened it he found the children inside.
One child was rushed to the Medi Clinic Ermelo and the other three were rushed to the Ermelo Provincial Hospital. All four were later pronounced dead.
An official inquest has been launched into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
