As South Africa commemorated Youth Day today (June 16), the recovery of Zenande Chiloane’s body from the Crocodile River in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, cast a bittersweet shadow over the occasion. Chiloane was the third victim of a crash that claimed the lives of two other students.

Lowvelder reports that his body was found on an island in the river a few kilometres downstream from the accident scene.

“We found him caught on a tree branch. We had searched the same island a few days earlier, but did not see him. Days later, his T-shirt floated to the surface, allowing us to locate him,” explains Captain Pottie Potgieter of the Ehlanzeni Diving Unit.

Volunteers searched through dense vegetation and used pangas to clear a path.

His body was positively identified by his next of kin.

After nine days of uncertainty, Chiloane’s family finally received closure and has requested privacy during this difficult time.

Chiloane, Vigo Godfrey and Tintswalo Khoza were travelling from a local restaurant on June 7 when their vehicle crashed into the river. Khoza and Godfrey’s bodies were recovered on the day of the accident.

A case of culpable homicide has been opened, and police investigations are continuing.

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