Tonga drowning victims identified
The two men who drowned after a truck transporting sand plunged into the Komati River in Tonga on March 28 have been identified.
The two men who drowned after a truck plunged into the Komati River in the Tonga area last Thursday afternoon, March 28, have officially been identified as Bakhele Ngomane and Ishmael Zitha.
A provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Donald Mdhluli, said the truck had reportedly been collecting sand from the Komati River in Skwahlane Trust in Tonga that day. He said the truck driver, who has not been identified, with Ngomane and Zitha alongside in the cabin, crossed over a bridge on the river, however, the truck slipped back as it started climbing an incline and went over the side, plunging into the river.
Mdhluli said the driver managed to escape and thus he survived. He said a case of culpable homicide has been opened.
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The Ehlanzeni Police Diving Unit’s Captain Pottie Potgieter said the unit, with the help of members of SARZA Lowveld, managed to recover one body from the truck on Friday March 29. It is unclear whose.
The second body was recovered on Saturday March 30, about 60m downstream from where the truck had plunged into the water. This was because the truck’s windscreen had shattered after hitting the water and the man was pulled into the river due to the strong current.
SARZA Lowveld’s Andrew Geldenhuys said the recovery was extremely technical and dangerous.
