The Limpopo police said they are concerned about the number of drowning incidents in the province. According to them, 39 people have drowned in Limpopo since the start of the rainy season.

A recent incident saw a 12-year-old boy, Thabang Mogofe, drown in a quarry last Sunday in Praktiseer. Thabang drowned in a huge hole that had allegedly been dug up by those who dig in soil and rocks. Police divers managed to retrieve the child’s body from the depth of five metres on Monday.

The acting provincial police commissioner, Major General Jan Scheepers, has again urgently appealed to parents and guardians and the community at large, to safeguard and protect their children and exercise extreme caution.

“The other similar incident involves a 10-year-old boy who drowned while swimming with his friends in Ntsima Village under the Sebayeng policing area in Mankweng on Saturday. The incident reportedly happened at about 12:00, but was only reported to the SAPS at 20:40.

“Members of the police’s search-and-rescue unit were activated and the child’s body was retrieved by the divers from a depth of three metres,” said the Limpopo SAPS spokesperson, Brig Motlafelo Mojapelo.

Scheepers said since the beginning of the rainy season to date, a total of 39 people, including 15 children, have drowned under various circumstances.

“Some drowned when their vehicles were swept away by the strong waters after the drivers had attempted to cross the flooded low bridges. Others, especially children, drowned while swimming.

“As a community, we can turn the situation around and stop these drownings by knowing where our children are playing, educating them not to swim in hazardous waters and exercising extreme caution when walking or driving in flooded areas,” said Scheepers.

“I also want to take this moment to commend the members of the search-and-rescue unit who spend sleepless nights and days conducting various missions in rivers, dams, mountains, manholes, pit toilets, streams and veld,” he concluded.