An evening fishing outing took a tragic turn when fisherman Jabulani Sibiya disappeared under water at the Umhlatuzana Canal on Saturday, 5 April.
Sibiya and his friends, Mpilo Mzobe, Sibusiso Nxumalo and Muzi Simelani were fishing in the river under the Huletts bridge in Clairwood. He cast a net into the canal and it lodged on something. Sibiya went in the water and freed the net. He cast it again and once more it became stuck. After he returned to the water to free the net, he failed to surface.
When after thirty Sibiya still had not emerged, his friends alerted Montclair SAP who responded. Unfortunately, a search and rescue team could not be called to the scene due to night fall.
A search team was dispatched the following day and recovered Sibiya’s body from the river. It was entangled in the fishing net. His body was taken to a state mortuary and a case of drowning was opened by Montclair SAP.
Lt Leopold Jojozi advises people to not go fishing in the river when its dark. The river is deep and not suitable for bathers.
