10 drownings in a week

MBOMBELA – Ten drowning incidents were reported at various police stations in the Ehlanzeni district within a week.

According to Brig Leonard Hlathi, provincial police spokesperson, these incidents happened in Tonga, Hazyview, Mhala, Matsulu and other areas.

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“As Mpumalanga police, we are always requesting community members to look after their children, more so if playing near the rivers or dams,” he said.

Recently three girls from Dludluma Trust, aged 13 to 15, drowned while playing with two boys in a trench. “This is an unfortunate situation in which three young lives have been squashed in a blink of an eye. we urge parents to look after their children, the children also have the responsibility to listen to their parents and the warning calls that we constantly make,” Hlathi added.
These deaths come barely three days after a 23-year-old man was swept down the Sabie River on Saturday while fetching water with his friends.

Meanwhile, police divers are still searching for the body of a 14-year-old boy who disappeared in the Crocodile River in Matsulu on Friday.