The police were dispatched after the man, who identified himself as ‘Jesus reborn’, walked into the dam and drowned.

The man’s body was transported to the state morgue and is yet to be formally identified by his family.

• According to eyewitnesses Leonardus van Vreden and his colleague Herman Malan, who are guards from Pentagon Security, the incident occurred at about 07:30. The guards were first on the scene.

Also read: Man identifying as ‘Jesus reborn’ drowns in Loskop Dam

They found the seemingly deranged man ripping out the seats of his vehicle, and then watched him set his car alight.
The guards extinguished the fire and the man ran into the bushes.

The police arrived and tried to persuade the man, who had made his way into the dam, to exit the water and not go any further, however, their attempts failed and the man walked deeper into the cold water and subsequently drowned.