Drought brings killer rains
The accident happened around 2pm along Sontonga Road, opposite the local filling station.
The recent long countrywide drought suddenly turned into a continuous torrential downpour that saw homes and roads in several areas around the Kathorus areas flooded, people inside vehicles rescued from drowning and the death of a teenage boy.
According to the media spokesperson for the Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS), William Ntladi, just after midday on Sunday, 13 November, a water rescue team retrieved the body of a 10-year-old boy from the raging waters of the Natalspruit River, near the Zonkizizwe informal settlement.
“As per information received from those gathered at the scene of the incident, a group of young boys jumped into the river with the intention of swimming. Unfortunately, one of them was suddenly overcome by the strong current and drowned,” explained Ntladi.
Ntladi explained that the team from the Zonkizizwe Fire Station tried to rescue the boy and gave him medical treatment, but he died on the scene.
In a separate incident that same morning, at around 8am in Vosloorus, three adult men survived drowning while performing a baptismal ritual in the same river. The three were overcome by the strong current which pulled them downstream, where they fortunately found themselves caught in dense reeds in the middle of the river.
The rescue team, this time from the Vosloorus Fire Station, managed to save all three of them. The men were treated for shock on the scene before they were transported to the nearby Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital.
Also on Sunday, in another rain related incident in Katlehong, two pedestrians died instantly and four others were critically injured after a light motor vehicle lurched into them as they were walking on the pavement along Sontonga Road.
The accident happened around 2pm along Sontonga Road, opposite the local filling station.
Paramedics and a rescue team from the Hlahatsi Fire Station, swiftly responded to the scene where they found the six pedestrians still lying about the scene of the accident. Two of the male victims were declared dead on the scene while four others sustained critical injuries. They were later transported to the local Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital.
The police have opened inquest dockets for investigations.
EMERGENCY NUMBER:
10177 : National Toll Free Number
112 : Cell Phone
011 458- 0911 : Life Threatening Ekurhuleni Emergency Line
