Body of 10-year-old drowning victim recovered from Kwena Dam
The girl cried out for help and he saw both children struggling in the water.
The body of a 10-year-old boy who drowned in the Kwena Dam outside Lydenburg was retrieved later the same day. The tragic incident happened just after 14:00 on Sunday, October 26.
Captain Pottie Potgieter of the Ehlanzeni diving unit said police divers were called out to the scene to retrieve the body of the child.
Photos: Supplied/Ehlangzeni Diving Unit.
According to the boy’s uncle, the child and his nine-year-old sister were playing in the water while the family was fishing. He said the girl cried out for help and he saw both children struggling in the water.
“The uncle managed to save the girl, but when he returned for the boy, he was already submerged,” Potgieter explained.
The Kwena Dam is notorious for sudden, steep drop-offs, even in areas that appear shallow.
Potgieter said this is exactly what happened to the children.
“The dam floor suddenly dropped as they were walking in what they presumed was shallow water,” he explained. “The body was found beyond the halfway mark of the dam.”
Potgieter added that despite the murkiness of the water, the retrieval of the boy’s body was not difficult. He was found by following the indications of where he was last seen.
Sergeant Cave Dilebo, spokesperson of Lydenburg SAPS, confirmed the incident and said that an inquest into the death of the child has been opened. Members involved in the retrieval of the body included the Lydenburg and White River K9 Units, iSecure EMS, E2 Bacsa, the Ehlanzeni diving team and Lydenburg SAPS.
Also read: Child drowns in Kwena Dam near Lydenburg
The name of the child has not been released.
Dilebo confirmed that the family of the victim are Badfontein residents.
