12-year-old dies while attempting to retrieve ball

A 12-year-old girl from Johannesburg, who had been playing with a ball during a family holiday in the Lowveld, was electrocuted on Sunday afternoon in what can only be described as a freak accident. Her nine-year-old cousin was also injured during the incident.

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The family have asked not to have the children, nor any other family members named, but spoke to Lowvelder about the circumstances surrounding the incident that happened near the Karula Hotel.

“The kids were playing in the garden. They threw a ball in the air and it landed in a tree, close to a cable that runs through the property,” a family member told the paper. “They took an aluminium pool pole and tried to get it out,” she said, adding that it must have been very heavy, because the two of them were holding it and it swerved towards the electrical cable, making contact.

Const Funeka Mathebula, the spokesperson for the White River SAPS, confirmed that the police had received a call on Sunday at 13:20 alerting them to what had happened. One child was rushed to hospital and the other declared dead on the scene.

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The family member said the girl’s family “is very devastated as they came here on holiday and were not expecting to return home and lay their child to rest.” She was laid to rest on the same Sunday in Johannesburg. “She was a very bright and beautiful girl. She did well at school, and she was very religious.” Her cousin is still in hospital and being treated for burn wounds. She is out of danger.

The family said amid the tragedy that struck them, something significant that stood out was the unbelievable support the surrounding community had provided.

“The community really assisted us and we are very thankful for everyone who had helped.” Mathebula said the police are investigating an inquest.