The bodies of two young friends who drowned during a fishing trip in the Umdloti River near Mount Moreland, north of Durban, on Thursday have been recovered.

Andile Ngema (11) and Sibongokuhle Msami (12) were allegedly swimming when they experienced difficulty and disappeared underwater.

According to reports by Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa), a group of children from Waterloo walked to the river to fish.

“Two friends decided to enter the water to cool off from the high temperatures. They experienced difficulty while swimming, and their friends witnessed the incident and attempted to rescue them but were unsuccessful,” said Rusa’s spokesperson, Prem Balram.

Balram said search and rescue personnel from the SAPS, Metro Police, and a private ambulance service entered the water in an attempt to retrieve the bodies on Thursday.

Balram said the search continued yesterday, with the help of a helicopter being called in to help disperse water hyacinth.

“Members of Rusa, IPSS Medical and Rescue Services, the SAPS Umhlali K9 Search and Rescue Unit, and Metro Police Divers met on the river bank. The Rusa R44 helicopter was called in to conduct a low-level flight to disperse water hyacinth that covered the search area and posed a risk to rescuers.

“Police with a specialised dog entered the water on an inflatable boat while divers with oxygen tanks searched areas indicated by the K9. The bodies of both children were recovered metres away from each other,” said Balram.