Two boys drown

Two children aged 10 and 11 drowned in a quarry at about 15:00 on December 13 while swimming with friends.
The water hole serves as a drinking hole for livestock on a private farm across from the Dunnottar Army Base on the Nigel/Springs Road.
“We received a report from Kwa Thema residents around 17:00 that two boys had drowned a few hundred metres from the army base and informed the Ekurhuleni Emergency Services”, SAPS Dunnottar spokesperson W/O Tommy Tomlinson said.
Ekurhuleni Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief, Rudi Beukes said they called out the SAPS divers around 19:15 after numerous attempts of recovering the bodies.
According to SAPS Dunnottar four children were swimming in the secluded quarry the afternoon when two of them jumped into the deep-end and never resurfaced.
Captain Ruben Hattingh (SAPS diver) said the hole is deeper than two metres in some sections and too dangerous to search for bodies without the proper gear.
“The bottom of the quarry is covered in a thick layer of mud and can easily pull you down”, Captain Hattingh said.
“We swept the hole for about 30 minutes before we recovered both the bodies in the deep-end. Both the boys were held down by a considerable amount of mud”, Captain Hattingh added.
He urged community members to warn their children to stay away from deep bodies of water because of the risk of drowning and to never allow your children to swim without proper supervision.
Police have opened an inquest docket for further investigation.