Two learners drowned yesterday afternoon during a school excursion in Centurion.

According to Tshwane Emergency Services spokesperson Charles Mabaso, they received a call just after 15:00.

“We received a call at 15:14 where it was reported that two learners had drowned in the Hennops River near Centurion.”

Mabaso says emergency services arrived on the scene to find that two boys aged between 13 and 16 had drowned.

“It is alleged that the boys were engaged in a water activity during a school excursion. The deceased are from Daveyton Skills School [situated in Benoni].”

He says SAPS divers recovered the bodies of the boys. They were both declared dead by paramedics on the scene.

“Circumstances leading to the drowning incident remain a subject of investigation by the SAPS.”

A similar incident

Earlier this year, a Grade 7 learner from Laerskool Queenswood in Pretoria also drowned during a school excursion.

The learner, 12-year-old Latoya Temilton, died while on an approved one-day trip to the Wag ’n Bietjie Resort in Witkoppen, Olifantsfontein.

Four teachers from Laerskool Queenswood in Pretoria will be charged with gross negligence by the Gauteng Department of Education – as recommended by a law firm appointed to investigate the death of Temilton.

This comes after the Nchupetsang Attorneys revealed its findings into the drowning incident that claimed the life of the 12-year-old learner in January.

It was found there was little supervision from the teachers during the excursion.