Gauteng drownings leave seven dead, SAPS divers recover bodies
SAPS diving units recovered seven bodies in a week of water-related tragedies while maintaining Easter patrols at major dams and rivers.
Divers from the SAPS Gauteng Water Policing and Diving Services (WPDS) responded to multiple water-related incidents across the province between April 1 and 7, recovering seven bodies while also participating in Easter festive deployments.
On April 1 at around 20:00, Ekurhuleni WPDS attended a drowning incident at Windmill Park on Barry Marais Road, near Boksburg Prison.
A 19-year-old man allegedly went swimming in an excavation site with his girlfriend and encountered difficulties, leading to his drowning. His body was recovered at a depth of about three metres after a 30-minute dive.
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On the afteroon of April 2, Johannesburg WPDS responded to a drowning in a residential swimming pool on First Road in Kew, Bramley. The body of an eight-year-old child was swiftly recovered.
On April 5 at around 20:50, Ekurhuleni WPDS were called to an excavation trench in Bosworth Street, Alrode.
It is alleged that six boys were swimming when one drowned. The victim’s body was recovered at a depth of approximately three metres after a 15-minute dive.
A search operation that began on the morning of April 6 at the Lower Barrage led to the recovery of a 32-year-old man’s body later that afternoon.
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The body was found floating in the Vaal River, about 800 metres from the Rand Water Board.
On April 7, Ekurhuleni WPDS responded to two separate incidents. In the first, a 26-year-old man at Vogelstruisbult Dam in Springs allegedly attempted to jump from a tree into the water after watching children swim. He drowned, and his body was recovered at a depth of three metres following a 15-minute dive.
In a second incident, officers recovered the badly decomposed body of an unidentified man in the Blesbokspruit behind Kanana Church in Heidelberg.
Earlier that same morning, at around 10:00, Tshwane WPDS members responded to Soshanguve Block KK, where the body of a 69-year-old man was recovered on an island in the Soutpans River.
During this period, WPDS members were also actively engaged in Easter festive operations from April 1 to April 6.
These included vehicle and vessel patrols at the Vaal Dam and river, as well as Bronkhorstspruit and Roodeplaat dams.
Over the four-day period, members attended six complaints, conducted 100 vessel inspections, visited 72 resorts, issued 19 warnings, removed 11 illegal fishing markers, and confiscated a canoe, six illegal nets, and one trap.
Investigations into all incidents are ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact their nearest SAPS station or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
